A new report from The Campaign for College Opportunity, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit dedicated to advancing racial equity in higher education, has taken a detailed look at Black high school students’ access to and success in higher education. Authored by Frank Harris III, professor of postsecondary education at San Diego State University, and Tina King, president of the San Diego College of Continuing Education, the report draws on data from several prior studies to shed light on how institutions and policymakers can ensure “all Black students can go to college and succeed without sacrificing or leaving their cultural assets behind.”‘
According to their analysis, the authors found that Black students are not supported to graduate from high school at the national average rate. During the 2019-2020 school year, the overall high school graduation rate was 86 percent, but only 81 percent for Black students. In comparison, the White and Asian high school graduation rates for this year were 90 percent and 92 percent, respectively.
Among students who do graduate from high school, Black students enroll in college at similar rates to their peers. Overall, 62 percent of graduating seniors in 2021 went on to enroll at a community college or four-year institution within 9 months. The rate for Black students was slightly lower than the national average at 59 percent, with 17 percent enrolling at community colleges and 42 percent enrolling at four-year institutions. The college enrollment rates for Latinx and White students were similar, at 59 percent and 62 percent, respectively. Asian high school students were significantly more likely than other students to immediately enroll at a postsecondary institution, at a rate of 85 percent.
Black community college students who enrolled in 2019 were found to be less likely than their peers to complete their degree within 3 years. At public community colleges, two-year non-profit colleges, and two-year for-profit colleges, Black students’ three-year graduation rate was 21 percent, 45 percent, and 46 percent, respectively. For White students, the three-year graduation rate at these types of community colleges was 36 percent, 66 percent, and 62 percent, respectively. The disparity was even more pronounced when compared to Asian community college students whose respective graduation rates were 42 percent, 86 percent, and 68 percent.
Among Black students who enrolled at public four-year colleges and universities in 2016, Black students were significantly less likely than their White and Asian peers to complete their degrees within 6 years. At public, nonprofit, and for-profit four-year institutions, the six-year graduation rate for Black students was 42 percent, 46 percent, and 31 percent, respectively. For White students, the respective graduation rates were 63 percent, 72 percent, and 45 percent, and for Asian students, the respective graduation rates were 74 percent, 83 percent, and 70 percent.
As a result of these disparities in graduation rates, just 25 percent of Black Americans aged 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree, compared to 58 percent of Asian Americans, 40 percent of White Americans, and 36 percent of American adults overall.
Dr. Harris and Dr. King offer several program recommendations for institutions to increase their Black student enrollment. These include developing strategic outreach plans to engage with Black students; creating initiatives to expose more Black students to postsecondary education, such as summer programs and dual-enrollment opportunities; strengthening community college pipelines to four-year institutions; adequately staffing university admissions centers; and increasing student scholarship opportunities.
The co-authors also outline policy recommendations for institutions, as well as state and federal lawmakers that could result in a sustained and measurable impact on Black students’ access to and success in higher education. Among numerous other suggestions, these recommendations include implementing metrics to measure faculty’s level of support towards Black students, expanding support to Black-serving institutions, creating partnerships between high schools and community colleges, implementing scorecards that report on institutional effectiveness in serving Black students, and increasing the Pell Grant amount to cover the full cost of tuition at public institutions.
