This project examines data that provide a foundation from which the higher education community and its many stakeholders can draw insights, raise new questions, and make the case for why race and ethnicity still matter in American higher education. See the 2019 report Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education: A Status Report and the new 2020 Supplement. Download Reports >
U.S. Population Trends and Educational Attainment
Explores U.S. population growth and differences in educational attainment, by race and ethnicity.
Secondary School
Completion
Examines the racial and ethnic composition of secondary school completers, GED® test performance, and public high school graduation rates.
Enrollment in
Undergraduate Education
Explores patterns in undergraduate enrollment, including where students enroll, program award level, and field of study.
Enrollment in
Graduate Education
Analyzes graduate school enrollment rates and enrollment patterns in graduate education, by race and ethnicity.
Undergraduate Persistence
and Completion
Examines six-year outcomes of undergraduate students and patterns in undergraduate completions, including award level and field of study.
Graduate School
Completion
Explores patterns in graduate student completions, including from where students graduate, award level completed, and field of study.
How Students Finance Undergraduate Study
Illustrates how students finance undergraduate education, including FAFSA completion rates, expected family contribution, borrowing rates, and patterns in borrowing.
How Students Finance
Graduate Study
Illustrates how students finance graduate education, including receipt of grant aid, borrowing rates, and patterns in borrowing.
Spotlight on Minority
Serving Institutions
Examines the characteristics of students enrolled at minority serving institutions (MSIs), along with six-year outcomes of students who start their college education at an MSI.
Postsecondary Faculty
and Staff
Explores the profile of faculty, staff, and executive leadership employed at U.S. postsecondary institutions.
Employment
and Earnings
Analyzes labor force participation, employment, and median annual earnings across levels of educational attainment and occupational fields.
Career and Technical
Education
Analyzes sub-baccalaureate completions across career clusters, work certifications, licenses, and work experience programs.
Featured Content
Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education: 2020 Supplement
This 2020 supplement builds upon Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education: A Status Report. The supplement includes six major topics: the academic experiences of students prior to college, graduate and professional education, postsecondary career and technical education, student loan debt and repayment, and postsecondary faculty and staff. It also seeks to address the dearth of data available for Native students, highlighting the role Tribal Colleges and Universities play in serving Native students and communities.
Featured Data
Black students were more likely to borrow and faced greater difficulty repaying their loans than other groups
Black or African American students generally borrow more than others; Asian and Hispanic or Latino students accumulate lower than average levels of debt. About one-fifth of all bachelor’s degree recipients and associate degree recipients were in an income-driven repayment plan. Black borrowers were the most likely to experience a forbearance or delinquency among associate degree and bachelor’s degree recipients. Black students were also the only group who, across every level, owed more than what they borrowed after 12 years. Black bachelor’s degree recipients owed 105.5 percent and Black associate degree recipients owed 117.3 percent of their original loan.
86.4%
of Black bachelor’s degree
recipients borrowed
105.5%
Amount Black bachelor’s degree
recipients owed of their original
loan after 12 years
Ideas and Insights
Explore content that builds on topics or themes in the Ideas and Insights section. Select a category below or view all of the content.