The growth of racial and ethnic diversity in American universities in recent decades has exposed the gaps in educational achievement between white students and students of color. Understanding these disparities is a vital first step in creating a fairer and more just system of post-high school education.
The contrasts are numerous—and obvious. Too many Black students are left behind. There are far too few nonwhite administrators to accurately reflect today’s diverse student population. We lack reliable statistics on the performance of some student groups, including Native Americans, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. Race, ethnicity, and gender play an outsized role in students’ decisions about where to enroll, what they study, and how to pay for their education.
A few facts make it clear that our nation has a two-tiered system of higher education:
- Black students are more likely to drop out of college, and those who graduate do so with more debt. Black graduates between 25 and 34 earn less and face a higher unemployment rate than white graduates in the same age group.
- There’s too little federal data to adequately explain educational gaps in Indigenous communities, but the available statistics are worrisome. Native undergrads, for example, are less likely than their non-Native peers to enroll at a four-year institution or pursue a bachelor’s degree.
- Race, ethnicity, and gender play a significant role in where students go to college and what they study. For example, a disproportionate number of students of color attend for-profit colleges, and Black undergrads are less like to earn degrees in science, technology, engineering, or math.
- Race and ethnicity also play a role in student loan debt. Black students are more likely to borrow and take on greater debt, especially when compared with Hispanic and Asian students.
- While the share of nonwhite undergrads increased from 30 percent to 45 percent between 1996 and 2016, administrators, faculty, and staff remain mostly white.
Of course, no list of facts can tell the full story. Still, these data should serve as an important wake-up call. We cannot allow race, gender, or ethnicity to deny any student the education he or she deserves.