Higher education in the United States is more diverse now than at any time in its history. Over the last 20 years alone, the share of undergraduate students who identify as a race other than White has increased from approximately 30 percent to about 45 percent (Espinosa et al. 2019). Despite the growth in access to higher education, the opportunities and experiences of students, faculty, and staff in higher education continue to vary along racial and ethnic lines. Understanding these variations is vital to ensuring that higher education fulfills its role in promoting social and economic mobility.
The 2019 report, Race andEthnicity in Higher Education: A Status Report, examined over 200 indicators, looking at who gains access to a host of educational environments and experiences, and how students’ trajectories differ by race and ethnicity.
The data presented in this supplement delve deeper into specific topic areas based on feedback from key stakeholders about the areas that deserve more attention. Such analysis includes new indicators on the different experiences of students prior to arriving on college campuses, graduate and professional education, student loan debt and repayment, and postsecondary faculty and staff.
The data in this supplement, like the 2019 report, shine a light on the stark differences in outcomes between White students and students of color, particularly Black or African American students. The extent of the inequalities documented here indicates that higher education has a critical role to play in diminishing inequities and providing meaningful opportunities for students from all backgrounds.
Four key findings:
Our K–12 and postsecondary educational institutions disproportionately fail Black or African American students. Inequities in K–12 education restrict postsecondary opportunities for many Black students and often create an uneven playing field for those who do matriculate.
Enrollment in high schools with lower financial resources and limited access to a rigorous K–12 education impede the progress of many Black students, generating unequal outcomes across racial lines. By the end of high school, Black students were less prepared than White students for college-level work. Once in postsecondary education, Black students in career and technical education were less likely to complete their credentials in potentially higher-paying fields. Finally, the representation of Black students enrolled in graduate education remained well below their total share among undergraduate students. All of the educational indicators presented in this report—from high school to graduate school—reflect pervasive systemic barriers the Black community faces in our country, indicating that race remains a prevailing factor in many educational outcomes.
- | Among the fall 2009 high school cohort, roughly one in three students overall took a college-level Advanced Placement (AP) course while in high school, compared with about one in five Black students. Similarly, about onethird of all students took a college course for credit in high school, compared with a little over one-quarter of Black students. This is critical, as both AP courses and dual enrollment can provide students with an opportunity to earn college credit while in high school.
- | In 2015, 64.2 percent of all Black 12th graders were in the lowest achievement level for math and 47.6 percent were in the lowest achievement level for reading. This pattern remained even when considering income and parental education levels. | Over half (53 percent) of all Black students who took the SAT in 2019 met none of the college and career readiness benchmarks, compared with 30 percent of all test takers. Only 6 percent of all Black students who took the ACT in 2019 met all four college and career readiness benchmarks, compared with 26 percent of all test takers.
- | Among the fall 2009 high school cohort, roughly one in three students overall took a college-level Advanced Placement (AP) course while in high school, compared with about one in five Black students. Similarly, about onethird of all students took a college course for credit in high school, compared with a little over one-quarter of Black students. This is critical, as both AP courses and dual enrollment can provide students with an opportunity to earn college credit while in high school. | In 2015, 64.2 percent of all Black 12th graders were in the lowest achievement level for math and 47.6 percent were in the lowest achievement level for reading. This pattern remained even when considering income and parental education levels. | Over half (53 percent) of all Black students who took the SAT in 2019 met none of the college and career readiness benchmarks, compared with 30 percent of all test takers. Only 6 percent of all Black students who took the ACT in 2019 met all four college and career readiness benchmarks, compared with 26 percent of all test takers. | Despite facing these barriers, nearly half of all Black high school students reported they were very sure they would pursue a bachelor’s degree (45.5 percent). Among those in the lowest income quintile, Black students were among the most likely to report they were very sure they would pursue a bachelor’s degree (35.7 percent).
- | Despite facing these barriers, nearly half of all Black high school students reported they were very sure they would pursue a bachelor’s degree (45.5 percent). Among those in the lowest income quintile, Black students were among the most likely to report they were very sure they would pursue a bachelor’s degree (35.7 percent).
- | In 2016, 21.1 percent of all adults had a work certification or license. Black adults were the second most likely group to report having a work certification or license (20.0 percent), behind White adults (23.8 percent). However, Black adults (17.7 percent) were less likely than adults of more than one race (27.4 percent), Asian adults (24.2 percent), and White adults (23.8 percent), to have completed a work experience program, such as internships and apprenticeships.
- | Black students represented just 10.4 percent of master’s degree recipients and 7.0 percent of all doctoral and professional degree recipients between 2015 and 2017. Black students also represented just a small proportion of all students enrolled in dental (5.3 percent), medical (7.3 percent), and law (8.1 percent) school. Black or African American, Native, and Hispanic or Latino students were much more likely than their Asian and White peers to enroll in and complete degrees at for-profit institutions. This is particularly problematic, as students who enrolled in these institutions tended to have higher borrowing rates and faced larger debt burdens than students enrolled in other sectors. Students of all races and ethnicities borrowed more at for-profit institutions when compared with other institution types. Even then, Black students borrowed considerably more. This is an urgent finding given the lack of wealth in the Black community, making a heavy loan burden an almost certain impediment to much-needed intergenerational mobility.
- | Among associate degree completers in 2015–16, 20.4 percent of Black or African American, 15.9 percent of Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, 14.0 percent of American Indian or Alaska Native, and 10.9 percent of Hispanic or Latino students completed their degrees at a for-profit institution, compared with 9.3 percent of White students and 8.2 percent of Asian students.
- | Of those that went to graduate school between 2015 and 2017, 28.4 percent of Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander and 23.2 percent of Black students completed their master’s degrees at a for-profit institution, compared with 8.9 percent of master’s degree recipients overall. Among doctoral and professional degree recipients, 14.4 percent of Black and Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander students each completed their degrees at for-profit institutions, compared with just 4.5 percent of all graduates.
- | Overall, 86.1 percent of bachelor’s degree recipients at for-profit institutions borrowed an average of $40,583 to complete their degrees, compared with 68.7 percent of students at private nonprofit four-year institutions who borrowed an average of $31,435 and 66.6 percent students at public four-year institutions who borrowed an average of $27,079. More than nine in 10 Black and Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander students at for-profit institutions borrowed to complete their degrees. Across all degree levels, Black students were much more likely to borrow and borrowed more, on average, than any other group.
- | The most diverse position among senior administrators in 2018–19 was chief student affairs and student life officers, among whom 26.4 percent identified as non-White. The least diverse positions were chief athletics administrators, chief development and advancement officers, and chief facilities officers, of whom more than nine in 10 identified as White.
- | The most diverse positions among mid-level professionals in 2018–19 were research positions, among whom 31.2 percent identified as non-White, followed by student affairs (27.0 percent) and institutional affairs (26.8 percent). The least diverse mid-level professional positions were athletic affairs, external affairs, and facilities, among whom more than eight in 10 identified as White. | Students of color were much more likely to encounter people from similar backgrounds in clerical, technical, and service staff positions than among faculty, department head, administrative, or mid-level professional positions. In 2018–19, 41.3 percent of all service and maintenance staff, 26.4 percent of all technical and paraprofessional staff, 25.8 percent of all office and clerical staff, and 17.1 percent of all skilled craft staff identified as people of color.
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