> Skip to content
FEATURED:
  • The Evolution of Race in Admissions
Sign In
  • News
  • Advice
  • The Review
  • Data
  • Current Issue
  • Virtual Events
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
Sign In
  • News
  • Advice
  • The Review
  • Data
  • Current Issue
  • Virtual Events
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
  • News
  • Advice
  • The Review
  • Data
  • Current Issue
  • Virtual Events
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
Sign In
ADVERTISEMENT
Diversity
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Show more sharing options
Share
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Copy Link URLCopied!
  • Print

How Well Does Your Public University Treat Black Students? New Effort Assigns Grades, State by State

By  Andy Tsubasa Field
September 25, 2018
Shaun Harper is executive director of the U. of Southern California’s Race and Equity Center, which released a report on Tuesday that grades public universities and states on how well they attract and graduate black students.
Andrew Zinn, U. of Southern California
Shaun Harper is executive director of the U. of Southern California’s Race and Equity Center, which released a report on Tuesday that grades public universities and states on how well they attract and graduate black students.

Black public-university students in two states with the highest percentage of African-American residents are among the most disadvantaged nationwide, according to a new report that grades both public universities and states on how well they attract and graduate black students.

Louisiana earned the lowest rating in the report, published on Tuesday by the University of Southern California, despite having the second-highest percentage of black residents. Mississippi, the state with the largest share of its population identifying as African-American, was ranked fourth-lowest on how inclusive its public universities are.

We’re sorry. Something went wrong.

We are unable to fully display the content of this page.

The most likely cause of this is a content blocker on your computer or network. Please make sure your computer, VPN, or network allows javascript and allows content to be delivered from c950.chronicle.com and chronicle.blueconic.net.

Once javascript and access to those URLs are allowed, please refresh this page. You may then be asked to log in, create an account if you don't already have one, or subscribe.

If you continue to experience issues, contact us at 202-466-1032 or help@chronicle.com

Shaun Harper is executive director of the U. of Southern California’s Race and Equity Center, which released a report on Tuesday that grades public universities and states on how well they attract and graduate black students.
Andrew Zinn, U. of Southern California
Shaun Harper is executive director of the U. of Southern California’s Race and Equity Center, which released a report on Tuesday that grades public universities and states on how well they attract and graduate black students.

Black public-university students in two states with the highest percentage of African-American residents are among the most disadvantaged nationwide, according to a new report that grades both public universities and states on how well they attract and graduate black students.

Louisiana earned the lowest rating in the report, published on Tuesday by the University of Southern California, despite having the second-highest percentage of black residents. Mississippi, the state with the largest share of its population identifying as African-American, was ranked fourth-lowest on how inclusive its public universities are.

The report, released by the university’s Race and Equity Center and co-authored by Shaun R. Harper, the center’s executive director, measured black-student equity in state universities based on four indicators: how closely the percentage of black students matches the demographics of that state; how closely the gender makeup of the black-student population mirrors the gender makeup of all students, regardless of race; how closely black students’ six-year graduation rates match that of all students; and the ratio of black students to black professors.

Using that formula, researchers rated public universities and then averaged those ratings to grade states. The states that fared worse in the analysis were those in the Deep South. Louisiana, whose population is one-third black, scored 1.18 on the report’s four-point scale. Mississippi, which is 37-percent African-American, received a score of 1.42.

ADVERTISEMENT

West Coast universities, whose states have smaller black populations, fared better by the report’s metrics. Washington earned a 2.59, California a 2.46, and Oregon a 2.07. The highest-rated state in the analysis was Massachusetts, which earned a 2.81.

The study acknowledged a handful of limitations in its analysis, including that universities with a “pathetically low” number of black professors were rewarded by its “black students-to-black faculty” metric.

The report is not the first to grade minority representation, state by state. Two reports by the Education Trust, released in June, judged how well states had closed the gap in degree attainment between Hispanic and African-American adults and white adults since 2000. One of the reports found that both Louisiana and Mississippi had performed “below average” in closing the gap between white and black degree attainment.

The University of Southern California study also found that even though 15 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds are black, black students make up barely 10 percent of full-time enrollments at state universities. The report also shows that 44 percent of public universities have 10 or fewer black full-time faculty members.

ADVERTISEMENT

Follow Andy Tsubasa Field on Twitter at @AndyTsubasaF, or email him at andy.field@chronicle.com.

A version of this article appeared in the October 5, 2018, issue.
We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
Admissions & EnrollmentFinance & OperationsDiversity, Equity, & Inclusion
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Related Content

  • Many States Get Mediocre Grades in 2 Studies of Degree Attainment by Race and Ethnicity
  • Explore
    • Get Newsletters
    • Letters
    • Free Reports and Guides
    • Blogs
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle Store
    • Find a Job
    Explore
    • Get Newsletters
    • Letters
    • Free Reports and Guides
    • Blogs
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle Store
    • Find a Job
  • The Chronicle
    • About Us
    • DEI Commitment Statement
    • Write for Us
    • Talk to Us
    • Work at The Chronicle
    • User Agreement
    • Privacy Policy
    • California Privacy Policy
    • Site Map
    • Accessibility Statement
    The Chronicle
    • About Us
    • DEI Commitment Statement
    • Write for Us
    • Talk to Us
    • Work at The Chronicle
    • User Agreement
    • Privacy Policy
    • California Privacy Policy
    • Site Map
    • Accessibility Statement
  • Customer Assistance
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise With Us
    • Post a Job
    • Advertising Terms and Conditions
    • Reprints & Permissions
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
    Customer Assistance
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise With Us
    • Post a Job
    • Advertising Terms and Conditions
    • Reprints & Permissions
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
  • Subscribe
    • Individual Subscriptions
    • Institutional Subscriptions
    • Subscription & Account FAQ
    • Manage Newsletters
    • Manage Your Account
    Subscribe
    • Individual Subscriptions
    • Institutional Subscriptions
    • Subscription & Account FAQ
    • Manage Newsletters
    • Manage Your Account
1255 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037
© 2023 The Chronicle of Higher Education
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • youtube
  • facebook
  • linkedin