by Stephanie Reyna
Saddleback College
Mission Viejo, California
When my family and I sit down at dinner every night, we try to avoid the basic, “How was your day” question and try asking each other questions like, “Did anything make you laugh today?” “Did you see an act of kindness and what was it?” “Tell me one real thing and one fake thing that happened today” and “What’s something new you learned today?” For context, I have an 8-year-old, and if it weren’t for these questions, a typical answer to “How was your day?” would be, “good,” “fine,” or annoyingly, “6-7.” If you know, you know.
Having these conversations with my family helps me reflect on my day and cut through the mundane to find moments that stood out.
At the most recent NCMPR DEI Committee meeting, I had a similar moment of reflection during our share-out. When it was my turn, I mentioned what I had recently learned at my District 6 conference – something that in all my years of working in higher ed, I had never heard of: assets-based vs. deficit-based language.
The presentation I attended at the conference shared how, when asked to write marketing copy for prospective students, GPT’s tend to write from a deficit-based perspective. As the presentation went on, I heard many examples of copy that I at some point probably wrote for social media ads. I found this fascinating and had to know more!
A quick search of assets- vs. deficit-based language pointed me to a blog post on the website for the consulting firm, Integrated Comprehensive Systems for Equity. The blog post, titled “Why Schools Should Embrace Assets-Based Language Over Deficit-Based Language,” provided examples and explained the benefits of writing from an assets-based perspective.
Examples of deficit-based language for students with different identities included:
- Special education student or special ed kid
- English learner
- Wheelchair-bound
- Homosexual
- He/she
Examples of assets-based language for the above examples were:
- Student receiving special educational services
- Student who is bilingual or multi-lingual
- Student who uses a wheelchair
- Person who is LGBTQIA+, or gay or lesbian
- They/them (mitigating mis-gendering)
In short, “Asset-based language focuses on what the student/family/community can do and what skills, gifts, and knowledge they have,” and “Deficit-based language and thinking operate on the premise of identifying shortcomings or deficiencies within individuals or communities. It perpetuates a narrative of inadequacy, blaming individuals for their circumstances rather than examining systemic inequities.”
Colleges are a way for a student to enhance their skills, to further develop their interests and passions, to allow them to give in to their curiosities in a structured and supported way. They do best when they feel seen and supported.
This is equity work! And if we are committed to doing our part to improve equity on our campuses, we must be committed to breaking from the traditional marketing language we use and shift to assets-based language. As marketers, we can start by reviewing our copy and asking the question, “Are we describing our students by their challenges or by their strengths?”
I hope you learned something new and that this topic sparked a curiosity for you like it did for me.
Stephanie Reyna is the new media and marketing specialist at Saddleback College in California. She is a a 15+ year member of NCMPR and is currently a member of District 6’s executive council and NCMPR’s DEI Committee.
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