The Downward Spiral of African American Enrollments in Higher Education

New data from the U.S. Department of Education shows that in the 2016-17 academic year, a total of 3,527,726 African Americans were enrolled in higher education at some point during the year. Blacks made up 13.2 of the total enrollments.

Two years earlier during the 2014-15 academic year, there were 3,811,079 Black or African American students enrolled in degree-granting institutions of higher education. They made up 13.9 percent of the total enrollments. Two years earlier in the 2012-13 academic year there were 4,082,004 African Americans enrolled in higher education. They made up 14.4 percent of the total enrollments.

So, since the 2012-13 academic year the number of Black students enrolled in higher education has declined by 554,278 students. The Black percentage of all enrollments has dropped from 14.4 percent to 13.2 percent.