Report Says Black College Students Face Persistent Gaps

Career College Central summary:

More black students in California are earning bachelor’s degrees than a decade ago, but enrollment in the state’s public universities is stagnant and many are turning to for-profit schools, according to a report released last week.
The road to graduation for black students is still pitted with obstacles, despite efforts to close achievement gaps that have persisted over the years, according to the report released by the Campaign for College Opportunity, a California advocacy group.
The report used census data, state and federal education information and statistics from California’s three systems of higher education.
Among the findings:
- Blacks have the lowest completion rates for freshman and transfer students at all three higher education segments: community colleges, California State University and the University of California.
- Black students are more likely than any other group to attend college without ever earning a degree.
- In 2012, more black students were enrolled at private, for-profit colleges than at Cal State and UC combined.
- The achievement gap between blacks and whites earning a bachelor’s degree or higher has narrowed by only a percentage point over the last decade. In 2011, about 24% of black adults had obtained a bachelor’s compared with 41% of whites.

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