Even With Affirmative Action, Blacks and Hispanics are More Underrepresented at Top Colleges Than 35 years Ago

August 24, 2017

Share this

Title: Even With Affirmative Action, Blacks and Hispanics are More Underrepresented at Top Colleges Than 35 years Ago

Authors: Jeremy Ashkenas, Haeyoun Park and Adam Pearce

Source: The New York Times

Equitable access to a higher education remains elusive. A recent New York Times article revealed that Black and Hispanic freshman are more underrepresented at the nation’s elite colleges today than they were 35 years ago. Using fall enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics, the authors analyzed 100 schools ranging from public flagship universities to the Ivy League. Despite decades of affirmative action, the analysis revealed that the share of black students at elite schools has remained relatively constant since 1980, while the share of Hispanic students attending elite schools has declined.

Finding ways to promote racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic diversity in higher education is a social and economic imperative. Improving access for racial/ethnic minority populations will require that institutions further bolster efforts to target recruitment and outreach to encourage them to apply and enhance recruitment and additional consideration for community college transfers.


If you have any questions or comments about this blog post, please contact us.

Keep Reading

Attracting and Retaining International Students at Community Colleges: Creating a 5-Star Experience

Community colleges were never designed for students from outside the United States, nor have they been given much attention. For that reason, if community colleges would like to attract, enroll, and retain these students, they must take deliberate and specific actions to plan and provide a five-star experience.

April 27, 2020

Using Data to Support Organizational Change at Community Colleges

While community colleges can and do change on a regular basis, leaders can use specific tools to facilitate change that is more strategic. Jaime Lester looks at the role data can play in this process.

May 15, 2020

Women’s Colleges Hold the Key to Our Future

Women’s colleges have been grabbing headlines in a year dominated by the politics of #metoo and the 2018 midterms, which saw more than 100 women elected to the House. But along with gender equity, these institutions must also prioritize diversity, John Marx and Elizabeth Hillman write.

November 29, 2018