Hispanics and African Americans are enrolling in four-year colleges at a record pace, closing the gap between the number of minority and white students attending universities, according to a new report from The Education Trust.
The report found that overall, both enrollment and graduation rates are up in colleges across the nation for not only minority students, but all students.
The report – “Successful: Improving Minority Student College Graduation Rates” – uses numbers for the U.S Department of Education.
The number of African Americans enrolled in college increased by 8.5% between 2009 and 2011, while the number of Hispanics increased 22% over the same time period, the report found.
The number of white students enrolling in college increased by 2.7% over the same time period.
The Education Trust noted that while the improved numbers represented a leap forward, more work needed to be done with graduation rates. African American graduation rates, for example, are still more than 2% less than they were in 2006.
“The Education Trust finds some encouraging news for those concerned about broadening access and success in the nation’s four-year colleges: Over the past three years, the number of black and Latino undergraduates enrolled in four- year colleges grew far faster than the enrollment of white students, and success rates for both groups also increased,” the report stated.
“Certainly, more improvement is necessary. Success rates (i.e., six-year graduation rates) for both groups still lag those of white students.”
Some schools have managed to close the gap. For example, The Education Trust reported that the University of North Carolina-Greensboro has graduated African American students at the same or higher rate as white students since 2002. Stony Brook University in New York now graduates Hispanic students at a higher rate than white students, and minority graduation rates are also moving up at Northeastern University.
“If more colleges act on lessons from their faster gaining peers — such as UNC-Greensboro, Stony Brook, and Northeastern — far more will be successful in improving graduation rates for all students and closing long-standing gaps between minority students and their white classmates,” the report concluded.
“Widespread improvement takes attention to proven practices, determination, and resources. A groundswell of committed institutions could accelerate national graduation rates to new and higher levels for all students and help remedy racial and socioeconomic inequities in education and beyond.”
Please Leave A Comment
Related posts:
A College Degree Leads to Better Pay, Report Says
Study: Most College Students Don’t Graduate in Four Years
Americans With College Education Report A Better Quality Of Life, Survey Finds
Report Finds Business School Graduates Commanding Six-Figure Salaries, Big Bonuses
New Study Finds Business School Rankings from US News & World Report Reliable and Consistent