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Race and Higher Education in America

National

Finish Line

Axios Finish Line

Data: National Center for Education Statistics; Chart: Connor Rothschild/Axios

Affirmative action, which for 60 years has increased the number of students of color at American universities, is on the chopping block. A case accusing Harvard of discriminating against Asian applicants has made it to the Supreme Court, and the court could elect to get rid of the 60-year-old policy.

Why it matters: While that's an unlikely outcome, it could push colleges to come up with better ways of promoting diversity on campus rather than just looking at race, says Mitchell Chang, an education professor at UCLA.

One possible alternative would be for colleges to look more closely at the high schools students are applying from and admit applicants from a diverse range of schools: rich and poor, as well as predominantly non-white.

Quick take: More than 70% of Americans, regardless of race, see college and post-graduate degrees as a way to succeed professionally and financially, a newly released Axios/Ipsos poll on inequities in higher education found. 

For people of color, higher education can help close a significant wealth gap. 

But here's a hard truth: If we did away with affirmative action, higher education would be a lot more homogenous — primarily dominated by white and Asian students. 

The University of California system got rid of affirmative action through a ballot proposition in the late 1990s, and the effect was immediate, the New York Times reports. Black and Latino enrollment at the top UC schools — Berkeley and Los Angeles — fell sharply, and those students were largely replaced by white and Asian students.

When UCLA Law went with a race-neutral admissions system, enrollment of Black and Native American students fell by more than 70%.

The state of play:  Black, Latino and Native American students are far likelier than their white and Asian peers to have lower standardized test scores and lower grades — too often because they attend underfunded and under-resourced high schools.

White, East Asian and South Asian students are also likelier to have access to advanced placement courses and standardized test prep. 

Many students of color, including many who are the first in their family to pursue higher education, first turn to community colleges to boost their careers. 

Meanwhile, college costs have tripled for public four-year colleges and more than doubled for public two-year schools and private, nonprofit four-year schools, while median family incomes for the lowest quintile have grown 21% in the past 30 years. 

By the numbers: College campuses are more diverse than they were a few decades ago, but there's still a wide racial enrollment gap. 

In 2019, 89.9% of recent Asian high school graduates, 66.9% of recent white graduates and 63.4% of Latino graduates were enrolled in college, compared with 50.7% of Black graduates, per Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

The bottom line: Ending affirmative action decreases the number of students of color at top colleges and their chance at higher lifetime earnings.

1. Affirmative action on campus is endangered

Ending the policy could push colleges to find better ways to promote diversity on campus.

Deep Dive: Hard Truths - Higher Education

Latin America and Latinos

Affirmative action, which for 60 years has increased the number of students of color at American universities, is on the chopping block. A case accusing Harvard of discriminating against Asian applicants has made it to the Supreme Court, and the court could elect to get rid of the 60-year-old policy.Why it matters: While that&#x27;s an unlikely outcome, it could push colleges to come up with better ways of promoting diversity on campus rather than just looking at race, says Mitchell Chang, an education professor at UCLA.

2024 will be an election year like no other, as President Biden seeks re-election amid economic uncertainty, two wars and questions about his age. His likely foe, former President Trump, faces felony charges and vows revenge on his political enemies. Meanwhile, Americans generally are dissatisfied with those choices and are divided over immigration, race, education and more.

Politics & Policy

Top stories & latest news on the Federal Reserve, real-time data, plus the biggest shifts happening in the U.S. and global economy.

Economy

After a record economic expansion, the coronavirus pandemic sent the U.S. economy into a recession as unemployment soared to staggering heights. The country now faces urgent questions about how much stimulus is needed for reeling consumers and businesses, and what a recovery might look like.

Economy & Business

Latino

Axios Latino

Yashana Rivera thought a rough freshman year 10 years ago had brought her college days to an end. But a community college restored her confidence and provided the means to achieve her dream of becoming a nurse.

Why it matters: As college tuition and application fees skyrocket, community colleges offer working-class students, immigrants and students of color like Rivera a more affordable, flexible path to middle-class careers.

Details: From the Navajo Nation to struggling former factory towns in New England, community colleges are the frontline to help people out of poverty.

Their programs offer diverse faculty and prepare students quickly for health care, tech and education jobs. 

Community college students enter four-year universities with less debt than they'd carry if they paid full university tuition from the start of freshman year. 

Flexible class schedules and online courses allow working students and single parents to attend part time, taking classes at night and around child care needs. 

It's a world that gave Rivera, the daughter of Puerto Rican parents who raised their family in Lawrence, Massachusetts, a nurturing environment to pursue nursing. 

Race and ethnicity demographics of community college students, 2019

Data: NCES (IPEDS); Adapted from AACC; Chart: Axios Visuals

By the numbers: People of color today represent the majority of students attending around 1,000 or so community colleges in the U.S., according to the American Association of Community Colleges.

Average in-state tuition for public community college is $3,770 annually compared to $10,560 at a public four-year university, based on 2020-2021 data.

About 2.4 million community college students attend full time, while 4.4 million are part-time.

How it works: Many community colleges have open enrollment, allowing students to forgo expensive prep classes for entrance exams and long application processes — systemic barriers that put college out-of-reach for some students of color.

The schools partner with local businesses, tribal governments and nearby high-tech labs to offer students internships and jobs during and after completing degrees.

They have dedicated departments easing the process for students to transfer to four-year colleges, though some now offer four-year degrees, too.

Yashana Rivera, a 2021 Northern Essex Community College Nursing graduate. Photo: NECC

What they're saying: "They provide the support that we need. And they bridge those gaps. Some of us have knowledge deficits. Some of us are English-language learners. They tell you: No matter where you are ... you can do this," Northern Essex Community College graduate Rivera told Axios. 

Rivera received her associate degree in nursing at the age of 29, while also working. "There's no timetable to success here."  

"I don't feel like I'm being judged coming from where I'm from. I can just focus on being a student," Miguel Eagle, a 22-year-old student at Oglala Lakota College, a school on Oglala Sioux tribal land in South Dakota that offers associate and bachelor's degrees. 

Eagle is seeking a degree in Lakota Studies with an emphasis in cultural tourism and wants to pursue a graduate degree at Stanford.

Vlad Ventura and Miguel Eagle side-by-side

Vlad Ventura and Miguel Eagle. Photos: Courtesy of students

Yes, but: Historically unfunded community colleges sometimes serve areas dealing with population declines and face cuts, highlighting the schools' shaky financial models based on enrollment growth, a 2021 report from the Association of Community College Trustees found.

Tribal community colleges can struggle to find regular local funding sources, and other community colleges have faced criticism for not updating programs to meet career needs in the tech-driven economy.

What to watch: Community colleges are actively addressing the nation's labor shortages in education, law enforcement and technology, and getting workers in those jobs as fast as possible.

Vlad Ventura, an immigrant from the Dominican Republic, took advantage of a Northern Essex Community College program that recently placed him in a Liberty Mutual computer science internship.

"I don't know if I could have done that without them," Ventura told Axios. He's planning on transferring to UMass-Lowell. 

2. The community college lifeline to people of color

"They tell you: No matter where you are...you can do this."

Illustration of three college students walking across the screen with quarters in the background

Yashana Rivera thought a rough freshman year 10 years ago had brought her college days to an end. But a community college restored her confidence and provided the means to achieve her dream of becoming a nurse.Why it matters: As college tuition and application fees skyrocket, community colleges offer working-class students, immigrants and students of color like Rivera a more affordable, flexible path to middle-class careers.

Reproduced from a College Board report; Chart: Axios Visuals

Average published college tuition and fees have more than doubled for public two-year schools and private nonprofit four-year schools, and close to tripled for public four-year schools between the 1990-1991 and the 2020-2021 school years, according to the College Board.

Why it matters: Median incomes grew 21% for the lowest quintile of families between 1989 and 2019.

How it works: A bachelor’s degree can mean close to $3 million in lifetime earnings, according to a Georgetown University report. 

But race, ethnicity and gender all play a role. The best-educated Black Americans and Latinos will fall nearly $1 million short of their white and Asian counterparts over a lifetime with a degree that costs the same.

3. The soaring price of college

Median incomes have grown 21% for the lowest quintile of families between 1989 and 2019.

Average published college tuition and fees have more than doubled for public two-year schools and private nonprofit four-year schools, and close to tripled for public four-year schools between the 1990-1991 and the 2020-2021 school years, according to the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="College Board" data-vars-click-url="https://research.collegeboard.org/pdf/trends-college-pricing-student-aid-2020.pdf" data-vars-content-id="6cfe630b-81cc-4e32-a671-532b7d48f2f3" data-vars-headline="The soaring price of college" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://research.collegeboard.org/pdf/trends-college-pricing-student-aid-2020.pdf" target="_blank">College Board</a>.Why it matters: Median incomes grew 21% for the lowest quintile of families between 1989 and 2019.

Standardized testing is just one hurdle for students of color to clear before school even begins, but more schools are dropping the admission test requirement. 

Why it matters: A college degree can mean the difference of at least $2.8 million on average over one lifetime, not to mention inclusion in social and professional networks that can improve career opportunities.

Even before enrollment, people of color and lower-income students have to contend with both the inequities and costs of standardized tests. 

But colleges have begun to prioritize contextual measures, such as academic performance relative to school districts and teacher recommendations, says Safiya Johnson, a charter school counselor in Chicago and admissions consultant at Solomon Admissions Consulting.

What's changing: Around 70% of U.S. bachelor-degree institutions did not require applicants to submit ACT or SAT scores for fall 2021 and 2022 admissions, according to a study by FairTest. That's up from 38% five years ago.

As of July, 43% of all applicants submitting the Common Application for the upcoming school year included a test score, Common App data shows, down from 77% in the previous cycle.

The biggest declines come among applicants of color (31% did so this season compared to 71% last season), as well as first-generation students (30% down from 69%).

What they're saying: High school counselors are still encouraging students to test and to submit good scores because they believe doing so could increase chances of admission, and because some scholarships and financial aid programs still require them, Bob Schaeffer, executive director of the National Center for Fair & Open Testing, tells Axios.

Despite the system's flaws, a new IPSOS/Axios poll shows that a majority (53%) of Americans still support a national college admissions test system. However, most Black and Hispanic respondents (65% and 60%, respectively) are in favor of abolishing standardized testing, while white and AAPI respondents are split (48% and 46%, respectively).

Flashback: College entrance exams can be traced back to the 1890s — to a eugenics movement and standardized testing systems that focused on questions that resulted in Black and Hispanic students scoring lower than their white peers. 

Yes, but: "The SAT itself is not a racist instrument," Priscilla Rodriguez, vice president of College Readiness Assessments (PSAT & SAT) at The College Board, writes in a statement to Axios. "Every question is rigorously reviewed for evidence of bias, and any question that could favor one group over another is discarded. Further, changes made to the test over its 100-year history have removed all vestiges of an aptitude (or “IQ”) test."  

For lower-income students specifically, test and application costs, including prep, can be another barrier, on top of total education costs.

Depending on the number of tests taken, schools applied to, whether a student opts for books, individual tutoring or months of full prep courses, the price of admission can range dramatically from $25 an hour to tens of thousands of dollars, per student. 

What to watch: The pandemic accelerated the move away from standard testing requirements, but it's unclear how many colleges will make the change permanent, says Schaeffer.

One thing is clear: Student body diversity may already be benefiting. 

The University of California says the end of standardized testing requirements may have encouraged more students to apply. There is a record-high proportion of underrepresented racial and ethnic groups in the incoming class. 

Harvard reports 18% of its incoming 2025 class as identifying as Black, up from 14.8% last year; 13.3% Latino, up from 12.7%; 1.2% as Native American, down from 1.8%; and 0.6% Native Hawaiian, up from 0.4%.

4. Fewer colleges require admissions tests

But more colleges are doing away with test requirements — especially in light of the pandemic.

Illustrated collage of multiple choice bubbles on a standardized test falling apart. 

Standardized testing is just one hurdle for students of color to clear before school even begins, but more schools are dropping the admission test requirement. Why it matters: A college degree can mean the difference of <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="at least $2.8 million" data-vars-click-url="https://cew.georgetown.edu/cew-reports/the-college-payoff/" data-vars-content-id="93814106-49a2-40ff-9814-707327eebbeb" data-vars-headline="Fewer colleges require admissions tests" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://cew.georgetown.edu/cew-reports/the-college-payoff/" target="_blank">at least $2.8 million</a> on average over one lifetime, not to mention inclusion in social and professional networks that can improve career opportunities.

San Francisco

Axios San Francisco

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are seeing a new wave of substantial donations and interest from big-name talent, but the attention has also highlighted questions of cultural identity.

Why it matters: In the past decade, flagging enrollment at HBCUs, founded to offer Black people access to higher education during the slavery era, has led schools to actively recruit non-Black students.

That trend has raised concerns among Black alumni and students who want to make sure the HBCU legacy — and its focus on the Black experience — continues.

The big picture: Most Black students choose HBCUs because they feel a sense of kinship with the colleges' culture and community, said Robert Palmer, a professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at Howard University. 

"This HBCU is a place that we came to, to be around folks who are like us, our culture, our experiences, who can relate to our issues, and also to have a sense of being uplifted," he said.

But it’s also why “there's a sense that [non-Black students] are invaders,” he noted.

The backstory: Three higher ed schools dedicated to Black students were founded in Pennsylvania and Ohio in the early 1800s. But schools for Black students didn't flourish until after 1890, when a law required states either to show that race was not a factor in admissions or to provide separate land-grant institutions for people of color.

After the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision, Black students had more options and enrolled in non-HBCUs.

The schools had to ensure strong enrollment by marketing themselves differently, per TIME, to cover costs for new facilities, faculty or activities.

By the numbers: Today, the growth of more than 100 HBCUs is concentrated in the South and on the East Coast, alongside over 500 Hispanic-Serving Institutions; roughly 30 Tribal Colleges and Universities; and around 100 Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions.

These schools are not defined by their racial demographics, but rather by their mission to serve disenfranchised students, Palmer said.

State of play: Enrollment at HBCUs over the decades has increasingly included non-Black students, federal data shows. 

In 2018, non-Black students were 24% of enrollment at HBCUs, compared with 15% in 1976.

As HBCUs sought out more non-Black students, a handful — such as West Virginia State University and Bluefield State College — became predominantly white, leading to racial tensions.

What they’re saying: When a traditionally Black space becomes predominantly white, its identity and culture inevitably change, research shows. 

5. HBCUs' identity crisis

Recruiting non-Black students has raised questions about preserving the schools' focus on the Black experience.

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are seeing a new wave of substantial donations and interest from big-name talent, but the attention has also highlighted questions of cultural identity.Why it matters: In the past decade, flagging enrollment at HBCUs, founded to offer Black people access to higher education during the slavery era, has led schools to actively recruit non-Black students.