While many factors play a role in college degree completion, race and ethnicity are often cited as major factors. This brief looks at six-year completion rates by race and ethnicity for students who began postsecondary education in fall 2010.
These results show a large gap between Hispanic and black students in the rate at which they complete bachelor’s degrees. The data also indicate that there is a substantial gap in the percentage of Hispanic and black students who earn less-than-two-year certificates.
Black Students
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Black students are less likely than their white counterparts to complete their college degree, especially when they have financial assistance. This is because they are often from low-income families and they lack a family history of college education, as well as the test scores and extracurricular activities needed to succeed in college.
In addition, Black students are more likely to experience racism than their white counterparts. They also have lower ACT scores, which make applying to and enrolling in college more difficult.
As a result, they have to spend more time in school and earn less money, making them more likely to take on debt when they finish their degrees. This is why it’s important for colleges and universities to implement a variety of strategies to support the academic, social and spiritual needs of black students.
The first step to support Black students is to ensure they have access to a wide range of resources on campus that help them succeed in college. This includes a full slate of cultural events and programs, as well as a comprehensive list of local houses of worship. Providing these services is an easy way to increase the likelihood that Black students will stay at your college and earn a degree.
Another strategy to help Black students succeed in college is to set up an orientation program for new students. Orientation programs can be designed to help students adjust to life on a predominantly white college campus, including teaching them how to navigate a new culture and social network. Organizing workshops and mentorship programs for upperclassmen can also provide support for black students.
It’s also important for campuses to understand the reasons why Black students are leaving. This can be done through equity audits and qualitative work that includes conversations with students and members of the local community.
Among the high-ranked institutions, Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Pennsylvania, Rice University, UCLA and Columbia University all have improved black student graduation rates over the past two decades. These gains are primarily due to efforts that have been made to recruit and enroll black students. Some of these strategies include increasing the number of black students in leadership positions and offering more cultural and social opportunities for them.
Hispanic Students
The number of Hispanic students at four-year colleges and universities has risen in recent decades. However, they are less likely to complete their college degrees than White students. This is due to many factors, including their low high school graduation rates and a lack of access to four-year institutions.
As a result, Latinos are more likely to enroll in institutions that offer only Associate’s degrees, a type of certificate program that allows them to earn an income but lacks the credentials that lead to the completion of a bachelor’s degree. These students are also more likely to take longer to complete their degrees, which will leave them with higher debt and lower job opportunities.
Another reason that Latinos are less likely to complete their college degrees is that they are often more focused on their family responsibilities than other students. They may have a difficult time balancing coursework with family life, which can leave them feeling overwhelmed and frustrated.
Moreover, students who are undocumented or DACA-eligible have limited access to federal and state aid. This means they may not be able to afford a university, especially if they do not have a steady source of transportation to and from school.
While a variety of resources are available to help students with these issues, they are not enough to close the gap in college completion. To address this issue, Latinos need more education about how to successfully navigate the complexities of higher education.
This gap in college degree completion is a serious problem, especially considering the fact that Latinos are a fast-growing population in the U.S. It is important for states and institutions to make efforts to help these students gain the education they need to thrive in their communities. Ultimately, these efforts can lead to more Hispanics completing their degrees and advancing in their careers.
White Students
Students of color, primarily black and Hispanic, have a long way to go to catch up with white students in terms of college attendance, completion and graduation rates. The gap is not just at selective schools that receive a large percentage of their student body from the same demographic group; it reaches far and wide across the nation’s higher education landscape.
Despite the many efforts to narrow these gaps, they continue to exist. The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center evaluated data on students nationwide who entered a postsecondary institution in fall 2010.
The data included information on the following:
How many graduates of each racial and ethnic group completed their degrees?
Using federal data on credentials earned and majors studied, researchers found that while there is no racial or ethnic gap in the number of students who graduate from four-year colleges, there are significant racial differences at the other end of the spectrum.
While many of these differences are based on the types of institutions that students attend, they also reflect the quality of the education they receive. Compared with students of color, white students are more likely to receive their degree from an institution that has lower costs to operate and to earn a credential in a more competitive field.
However, there are many reasons why a student may not finish a four-year college program or earn a bachelor’s degree. These include the lack of sufficient funding, financial stress, or the need to work full-time while in school.
In addition, some Black and Hispanic students drop out of college because they feel they are not included or isolated in their own communities. These feelings are particularly common at public universities and community colleges, which tend to have a high number of Black and Hispanic students.
For example, while only about half of students who started at two-year public institutions were able to complete their educations by the end of six years, there was a huge disparity between Asian and Hispanic students and White and Black students. In fact, while a quarter of Asian students and a fifth of White students completed their degrees within six years at their starting institutions, about a tenth of Hispanic students and one in 12 black students did so.
Asian Students
Asian students are more likely to complete their college degree than Black students, and they are also more likely to stay in school for longer periods of time. These results are not surprising, but they highlight the need for educational equity to support all students of color.
One of the most common stereotypes about Asian Americans is that they are high-achieving, successful students. Despite this, however, many Asian American students do not reach this level of success. This is due to a number of reasons.
First, these students are often held up to a model minority stereotype that was popularized in the 1960s. It was a reaction to Cold War-era policies designed to attract highly educated immigrants from Asia. This led to the myth that Asian Americans were a “model minority.”
Second, these students can be easily misunderstood as having the same mentality as their peers who are White or Latinx, and this can lead to discrimination and negative outcomes. These students may feel pressure to perform academically, which can have a negative impact on their mental health.
Third, these students do not have the same social supports that other racial groups do. This is especially true for Southeast Asian students, who are underrepresented in the United States.
This can make it difficult to get the education and job opportunities they need to thrive in the U.S. This can lead to feelings of anxiety and low self-esteem, which can affect their ability to focus and study.
Finally, these students have a hard time obtaining the health care they need to keep themselves healthy and safe. They may not have adequate insurance coverage, or they do not speak the language of their providers.
Regardless of these issues, there are a number of things that can be done to help Asian students achieve their goals. These include choosing a college that will meet their cultural needs, applying for scholarships and grants, and completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) on time. It is also important to find out if your college offers any financial aid programs.
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