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 Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education: A Status Report (2019), Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education: 2020 Supplement, and Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education: 2024 Status Report.
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Events & Recordings
Webinar Recording
September 11, 2024
Watch the recording of a timely and impactful webinar exploring the urgent challenges of Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) failures, concerns around enrollment rates, and the evolving responses from higher education institutions. The webinar began with a presentation on trends in FAFSA participation and educational debt across different racial and ethnic groups that emerge from ACE’s Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education: 2024 Status Report, which was released in May.
Webinar Recording
The FAFSA Failure, Enrollment Concerns, and How Institutions are Responding to the Crisis
August 20, 2024
Live Event Recording
Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education: 2024 Status Report Release Event
May 21, 2024
Featured Content
Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education: 2024 Status Report
The 2024 report follows Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education: A Status Report (2019) and Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education: 2020 Supplement. The 2024 Status Report examines over 200 indicators to determine who accesses a variety of educational environments and experiences, to explore how student trajectories and outcomes differ by race and ethnicity, and to provide an overview of the racial and ethnic backgrounds of faculty, staff, and college presidents. This report comprises eight chapters: 1) U.S. population trend and education attainment, 2) enrollment in undergraduate education, 3) enrollment in graduate education, 4) undergraduate completion, 5) graduate school completion, 6) how students finance undergraduate education, 7) how students finance graduate education, and 8) postsecondary faculty and staff.
Featured Data
Black or African American students had lower completion rates and higher levels of educational debt than their peers from other racial and ethnic groups.
Regardless of the institution type at which they began, Black or African American students were less likely than their peers from other racial and ethnic groups to complete a degree or certificate. For example, among students who began at R1 doctoral universities in fall 2011, the shares of those who had earned a bachelor’s degree six years later ranged from 69.2 percent of Black or African American students to 86.5 percent of Asian and 90.9 percent of international students (see table 4.1). Also, Black or African American students borrowed at a higher rate and incurred a larger amount of debt for their postsecondary education than other groups. Among 2019–20 associate degree recipients, 57.2 percent of Black or African American recipients borrowed an average of $21,750, while 35.8 percent of all recipients borrowed an average of $17,252 (see table 6.14). Among 2019–20 bachelor’s degree recipients, 86.4 percent of Black or African American recipients borrowed an average of $33,807, while 60.5 percent of all recipients borrowed an average of $29,743 (see table 6.21). Among 2019–20 master’s degree recipients, 77.5 percent of Black or African American recipients borrowed an average of $53,127, while 53.4 percent of all recipients borrowed an average of $47,906 (see table 7.7). Lastly, among 2019–20 research doctoral degree recipients, 60.5 percent of Black or African American recipients borrowed an average of $103,085, while 30.1 percent of all recipients borrowed an average of $63,557 (see table 7.17).
69.2%
of Black students earned
bachelor’s degrees in
six years at R1
doctoral institutions
86.4%
of Black bachelor’s degree
recipients borrowed
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