Wednesday, November 04, 2009

A Harvest of Good News on African Americans in Higher Education

A Harvest of Good News on African Americans in Higher Education Complete article in Journal of Blacks in Higher Education: http://www.jbhe.com/news_views/64_goodnews.html

Here is a summary of recent positive developments in the progress of blacks in higher education. The data is based on JBHE research and reports from the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Census Bureau.

HIGHEST LEVEL OF COLLEGE ENROLLMENT A new report from the U.S. Department of Education states that in 2007, the latest year for which complete data is available, there were 2.2 million black students enrolled in higher education in the United States. This is the highest level of enrollments for African Americans in history.

COLLEGE BLACKS AT PARITY POPULATION • Blacks now make up 13.1 percent of all students enrolled in higher education in the United States. Measured by percentage of population, blacks have now reached parity with whites.

3 TIMES AS MANY BLACKS IN GRAD SCHOOL AS IN 1990 • In 2007, the latest year for which statistics are available, there were more than 230,000 African Americans enrolled in degree-granting graduate schools. This is an all-time high. In 1990 there were 84,000 African Americans enrolled in graduate school, barely more than a third of black enrollments today

AP UP FROM 3.8 TO 6.1 PERCENT IN LAST 10 YEARS • In 2008 blacks made up 6.1 percent of all students enrolled in Advanced Placement courses in high school. These courses are equivalent to introductory courses at the college level. A decade ago blacks made up 3.8 percent of the students in these courses.

ONE THIRD 18-24 IN HIGHER ED VS 20% IN 1981 • Today almost one third of all African Americans ages 18 to 24 are enrolled in higher education. A generation ago in 1981 less than 20 percent of all blacks in this age group were enrolled.

No comments: