New Issue Brief Explores African American and Hispanic College Attainment Gaps
November 28, 2012
A new issue brief from ACE sheds light on why certain
racial and ethnic minorities—specifically African Americans and Hispanics—have
lower levels of postsecondary degree attainment. The Education Gap:
Understanding African American and Hispanic Attainment Disparities in Higher
Education is the first in a series of four briefs on
diversity and inclusion issues. The series is generously supported by the GE Foundation.
The Education Gap examines the degree or
certificate attainment of college freshmen from different racial and ethnic
groups who have met nine conditions for academic success. The nine conditions
were chosen because, unlike inherent traits such as being the first in the
family to attend college or having a particular socioeconomic status, they can
be influenced by deliberate efforts.
"The reality is that many African American and Hispanic
students must endure challenges and obstacles even before college that can be
detrimental to their chances of matriculating and graduating," said Kim Bobby,
director of ACE's Inclusive Excellence Group. "As we strive to reach higher
attainment rates, these inequities present a great challenge to the higher
education community. We're grateful for the continued support of the GE
Foundation as we work together to develop scalable solutions to these
problems."
The brief finds that African American and Hispanic
students were less likely to take rigorous courses or earn college credit in
high school, educational opportunities that enhance postsecondary academic
success. They also were more likely to defer entry into college, need
remediation, attend part-time, or complete fewer than 20 credits in the first
year. Any one of these conditions can have a negative impact leading to lower
levels of attainment, and many African American and Hispanic students face more
than one of these obstacles.
"These data show that racial and ethnic achievement
gaps don't happen overnight—they evolve over time," said Mikyung Ryu, associate
director of ACE's Center for Policy Analysis and the brief's author. "Because
academic success is a cumulative process, by failing to meet one condition after
another even after they enroll in college, some minority students face narrowing
chances of success. The brief underscores that a one-time or one-dimensional
policy will not move these students far enough toward college graduation and
that the higher education community and our colleagues in K-12 must work
together to take action."
The brief, which is free to ACE member presidents and
can also be purchased on ACE's website, is the first
installment of the Diversity Matters in U.S. Higher Education series.
The series is designed to provide campus leaders with timely, cutting-edge and
actionable information they can share with the members of their campus community
on a broad range of topics revolving around diversity and inclusion in U.S.
higher education.
MEDIA CONTACT: Ginnie Titterton ▪
202-939-9368 ▪ gtitterton@acenet.edu
