<p>this is a re-post for references purposes, 'cause I thought these were interesting reading.</p>
<p>From the Journal of Blacks in Higher Education:
<a href="http://www.jbhe.com/pdf/2005freshmensurvey.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://www.jbhe.com/pdf/2005freshmensurvey.pdf</a>
<a href="http://www.jbhe.com/features/38_leading_colleges.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.jbhe.com/features/38_leading_colleges.html</a></p>
<p>Interesting? Probably</p>
<p>Accurate, helpful, and timely? Not in the least. </p>
<p>The most questionable statement is found here:</p>
<p>"Unlike other ranking efforts in the field of higher education, our statistics, without exception, are highly quantitative. This is in sharp contrast to highly impressionistic institutional rankings such as those compiled by U.S. News & World Report in which 25 percent or more of the total ranking score is derived from subjective surveys of university reputations as determined by presidents, provosts, and deans of admissions at other institutions."</p>
<p>Is this a case of the one-eyed accusing the blind of poor vision?</p>
<p>xiggi,</p>
<p>These are not good studies for discovering how the highest ranked schools are educating our black students?</p>
<p>I couldn't open the files perhaps someone can give a synopsis?</p>
<p>There isn't much to summarize. The interesting parts of both articles are the tables of data. Number of black applicants, black acceptance rates, yield among black acceptees, percentage of black faculty, and so on and so forth. </p>
<p>The first article presents data from 2005, the second from 2003. The huge disparities in the data from just two years apart indicate the danger of relying on small one-year sample sizes to draw conclusions about liberal arts colleges. For example, there are numerous examples where colleges with the strongest affirmation action programs in the country (Amherst, for example) see their number of freshman African American students double or decline by half from year to year variation in yield. You could look at Amherst in the wrong year and conclude that they must not be trying to enroll Af Am students, which couldn't be further from the truth.</p>
<p>The reality is that the applicant pool of qualified Af Am students who want to attend elite private colleges is far too small and the bidding for these applicants by the schools is intense. Schools that were early adapters of aggressive affirmative action have reached a state of equilibrium and cannot grow (or even maintain) the percentages of black enrollment they have enjoyed in the past due to increased competion (often with merit aid discounts) from a larger number of schools. Because JBHE based their rankings on "change" to a large degree, you get some anomolies like a school with the third lowest percentage of black students in the country (among elite LACs) being given a high ranking because their pitiful results represent a large improvement compared to their historic levels.</p>
<p>This is not really a knock on JBHE. The data they provide is fascinating. However, their effort to establish meaningful short-term "rankings" based on this data is questionable.</p>
<p>
[quote]
These are not good studies for discovering how the highest ranked schools are educating our black students?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>According to the Journal of Blacks in Higher Education </p>
<p>Graduation rates play an important role in measuring the success of affirmative action programs. Many opponents of affirmative action assert, often without even looking at the actual data, that black student graduation rates are damaged by race-sensitive admissions. It is critical to review the statistics to see if this is true. For this reason, in this report we emphasize the graduation rates of black students at the nation's highest-ranked colleges and universities. Almost always these are the institutions that have the strongest commitment to race-sensitive admissions.</p>
<p>Academically selective institutions are almost always strongly committed to affirmative action in admissions, yet at the same time they tend to deliver a high black student graduation rate. Obviously, this undercuts the assertion made by many conservatives that black students admitted to our most prestigious colleges and universities under race-conscious admissions programs are incapable of competing with their white peers and should instead seek admissions at less academically rigorous schools. </p>
<p>Nearly 19 out of every 20 black students who enter the highly competitive academic environment of Harvard, Princeton, Haverford, and Amherst go on to earn their diplomas. Other academically demanding colleges do very well, although not as well as these four. </p>
<p>Sixteen other highly competitive colleges and universities turn in black student graduation rates of 85 percent or more. They are Wellesley College, Williams College, Brown University, Davidson College, Colgate University, Duke University, Northwestern University, Swarthmore College, Wesleyan University, Yale University, Georgetown University, Stanford University, Washington University, Dartmouth College, Columbia University, and the University of Virginia</p>
<p>Sybbie:</p>
<p>Gone with the lost thread was an observation I made. Although the most aggressive affirmative action schools have hit the ceiling on increasing black enrollment, there is a lot to suggest that they are no longer having to enroll as many "at risk" students to hit their targets. This can be seen in steadily increasing minority graduation rates.</p>
<p>As a corollary, many of these schools also have much stronger support: minority faculty, minority deans, etc.</p>
<p>I'd like to repost a question from last night that was part of the lost thread ...</p>
<p>Are there any good summary articles or stat tables for enrollment of Native Americans at elite private universities? Seems like even those colleges who recruit manage to achieve only around 1% of total student population. Are there any universities who've managed to enroll a "critical mass" as opposed to token few here and there. If so, how did they do it?</p>
<p>ID,</p>
<p>I agree with what you are saying because more black students are bringing stronger stats to the table. Where maybe a few years ago, you may have heard of about a string of students being admitted with scores of 11-1200, I think it is less likely now (unless the student show great promise and is also living in abject povery along with a failing school system).</p>
<p>The JBHE also had the following articles (some of the links no longer connect but if you are a subcriber, you can read the full text:</p>
<p>Black Participation in Particular Advanced Placement Courses: </p>
<p>In 2004 more than 78,000 African-American students took Advanced Placement examinations. Blacks now make up 5 percent of all Advanced Placement test takers nationwide. For both blacks and whites, English literature, American history, English composition, and calculus were the most popular AP courses. Blacks were 6.9 percent of all students who took the AP test in French literature. This was the highest participation percentage for any of the 34 AP subject tests. Blacks were also at least 6 percent of all test takers in the subject areas of English literature, world history, macroeconomics, and French language. </p>
<p>The lowest level of black participation was on the Spanish literature test. Only 56 black students nationwide took the AP test in Spanish literature in 2004. They were only 0.6 percent of all test takers in this subject. Blacks were also less than 2 percent of all AP test takers in the subject areas of electrical and magnetic physics, Spanish language, computer science, and German. </p>
<p>*Black Students Are Beginning to Seize the Early Admission Advantage *</p>
<p>just an excerpt.. read entire article</p>
<p>At the nation's highest-ranked colleges and universities, the percentage of college-bound blacks who apply for early decision has always been far below the black percentage of the total applicant pool. The reason that college-bound blacks generally shun the binding commitments of the early admissions process is that their acceptance commitment cuts them off from the process of negotiating a favorable financial aid package from competing universities. </p>
<p>But JBHE statistics show that black students are now beginning to apply for early admission in much larger numbers.
In past years college-bound blacks have been much less likely than whites to seek early admission to the nation's highest-ranked colleges and universities. African Americans have avoided making the binding commitment to enroll if accepted because the rules of early decision eliminate their chances to "play the field" and consider a wide range of financial offers from competing universities. As a result, blacks have not been able to take advantage of the fact that early decision applicants generally achieve a much higher acceptance rate than applicants who choose to go the regular route. </p>
<p>For African Americans, the early decision process is assuming greater importance for the simple reason that early decision applications now make up a very large percentage of all admissions decisions. For example, this past winter Princeton University admitted 581 students under its binding early decision admissions program. This group is about one half of the freshman class that will enroll at Princeton this coming fall. </p>
<p>*Blacks Who Applied for Early Admission in 2004 *</p>
<p>JBHE has surveyed the nation's highest-ranked colleges and universities to determine how the controversial issue of early admissions actually affects black access to higher education, particularly admissions to our most selective institutions. JBHE asked each of the nation's 25 highest-ranked universities and the 25 highest-ranked liberal arts colleges for this year's early admissions data. Some of the nation's highest-ranked institutions such as Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Amherst, Williams, Stanford, Dartmouth, Duke, and Columbia declined to participate in our survey. </p>
<p>We believe that the reason for this reluctance has to do with the fact that at most highly ranked colleges and universities there is only a very small trickle of black early decision applicants. Publication of this shortfall tends to hurt a school's reputation for its commitment to racial diversity. It is likely, although by no means certain, that universities and colleges missing from our statistics have a low percentage of black early applicants. </p>
<p>*For College-Bound Blacks, the Wait List Is Not the Place to Be *</p>
<p>this link still works</p>
<p>Increasingly, America's highly selective colleges and universities are using wait lists as a kind of enrollment insurance to make sure the schools fill their freshman classes with highly qualified students. But it turns out that for African Americans a notification of receiving wait-list status at most high-ranking colleges and universities is tantamount to a rejection letter.</p>
<p>In the Spring 2004 issue of JBHE we examined the status of African-American early admissions to the nation's highest-ranked colleges and universities. Our report found that blacks made up 4.7 percent of the early applicant pool. This is about 25 percent lower than the black percentage of all applicants at these colleges and universities in the regular admissions process. We also found that blacks were slightly more likely than whites to be offered admission during the early application process. </p>
<p>On page 6 of this issue of JBHE (Autumn 2004) we publish our annual survey of application, acceptance, and enrollment statistics for black first-year students at the nation's highest-ranked colleges and universities. </p>
<p>Now, for the first time, JBHE examines black admissions data for a different group of students those assigned to the admissions waiting lists. Again our data is limited to the wait lists at the nation's highest-ranked universities and liberal arts colleges. </p>
<p>According to the National Association for College Admission Counseling, about 36 percent of all colleges and universities nationwide place some of their applicants on a waiting list. But nearly 75 percent of all highly selective colleges and universities have a wait list. </p>
<p>A wait list gives college admissions officers an insurance policy against unexpected low yield. College and university admissions offices construct sophisticated computer models based on the socioeconomic and demographic profile of their applicants. They also consider the college's past admissions statistics to predict how many of the students they accept in the current cycle will decide to enroll. They then adjust their acceptance numbers accordingly.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Obviously, this undercuts the assertion made by many conservatives that black students admitted to our most prestigious colleges and universities under race-conscious admissions programs are incapable of competing with their white peers and should instead seek admissions at less academically rigorous schools.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>But there's a difference between if you graduate and how (GPA/honors..etc?) you graduate. I'd be interested in seeing the breakdown among races though it's probably not very PC to study, let alone releasing it.</p>
<p>"Are there any good summary articles or stat tables for enrollment of Native Americans at elite private universities? Seems like even those colleges who recruit manage to achieve only around 1% of total student population. Are there any universities who've managed to enroll a "critical mass" as opposed to token few here and there. If so, how did they do it?"</p>
<p>Remember, Native Americans are only 1% of the US population. With the exception of areas that have a high proportion of Native Americans, if a college gets a 1% enrollment of Native Americans, that is at parity with the overall US population.</p>
<p>By example, except for the historically black colleges, I can't think of any US colleges in which the proportion of African American students is equivalent to the proportion of the US population that is black (about 12%).</p>
<p>I have not seen the kind of college enrollment stats that you're looking for on Native Americans, but perhaps some Native American organizations have that kind of information.</p>
<p>Sam I think you brought up an important point. Sure, the graduation rates are impressive, but once you get into top schools, they try as hard as they can to keep you there as they don't want a low graduation/retention rate. Also, I really don't think it's too difficuly to graduate from any college. I don't know what the bare minimum is, but still. I'm not saying URMs are performing better or worse than other students at the colleges, I'm just saying it would be interesting to see those statistics of GPA/honors broken down, but I highly doubt we ever will...as you said, not a PC study at all.</p>
<p>Here is the article that is about black graduation rates from top-ranking LACs, universities and historically black colleges/universities, with a comparison to white graduation rates. From the JBHE:</p>
<p>"Academically selective institutions are almost always strongly committed to affirmative action in admissions, yet at the same time they tend to deliver a high black student graduation rate. Obviously, this undercuts the assertion made by many conservatives that black students admitted to our most prestigious colleges and universities under race-conscious admissions programs are incapable of competing with their white peers and should instead seek admissions at less academically rigorous schools."</p>
<p>All they have to do is stratify them by family income and they will get a very different picture.</p>
<p>There is a gap between white and black graduation rates of greater than 10% at some selective colleges/universities:
Dartmouth 10% gap between whites and blacks (blacks having 10 % less grad rate)
U-Penn 10%
Cornell 12 %
Tufts 12%
Cal Tech 16%
Berkeley 18%</p>
<p>At other schools such as Harvard, Princeton, Yale, and Williams, the gap is 4 to 8%. The above cited article from JBHE gives reasons, such as racial climate, support systems, geography, etc. There are improvements at some institutions. However, the national average at flagship state universities for black graduation rates is 40%, ranging from 86% to 5%. The article concludes that although there is improvement at some of the highest-ranked schools, "at the vast majority of top-rated schools, there remains a stubborn and very large graduation rate gap between blacks and whites."</p>
<p>regarding the LAC graduation gap, same kind of pattern exists, with 2 notable exceptions: Vassar with a 5% better African American grad rate than whites, and Colgate with 4% better, according to the OP's JBHE LAC report. Don't know if this is consistent over time.</p>
<p>Obviously some schools are trying very hard to close the gap. My question is if at the schools where the black graduation rates are averaging 40% (such as OSU 42% and U-Minnesota 34%), is it fair to accept these less prepared students when they are often being set up to not complete their education there? Wouldn't it make more sense for them to go to less demanding schools and then move up if they can? Or even at a place like Cornell, where the black grad rate is 80%, isn't there some predictabity of who is less prepared, so that these students can go elsewhere and have a greater chance of graduating? Besides stats, what is fair to the individual student?</p>
<p>"U-Penn 10%
Cornell 12 %
Tufts 12%
Cal Tech 16%
Berkeley 18%</p>
<p>At other schools such as Harvard, Princeton, Yale, and Williams, the gap is 4 to 8%."</p>
<p>Now where, pray tell, do you think the wealthiest Black students attend: Harvard, Princeton, Yale, and Williams or Cornell, Caltech, and Berkeley?</p>
<p>It also is unclear how many are the children of recent immigrants, from more educated backgrounds, which fulfills the diversity criteria, but avoids the issue of affirmative action that is supposed to right the past wrongs in the US.</p>
<p>". My question is if at the schools where the black graduation rates are averaging 40% (such as OSU 42% and U-Minnesota 34%), is it fair to accept these less prepared students when they are often being set up to not complete their education there"</p>
<p>The research that I have seen indicates that economics, not preparedness, is what typically causes the low black graduation rates at the schools where this happens. Students apparently drop out because they can not afford to go. That is, indeed, what I often saw at HBCUs that I have worked with. I also imagine that it's true of many of the black students at the kind of schools that you mentioned, which are not able to meet 100% of students' documented need.</p>
<p>I also know from personal experience that a student can be extremely qualified for such a school, but drop out because of immaturity. My S was one of the most highly qualified students of any race in the freshman class of the state university that he chose. He went to a second tier university with scores and a curriculum that had earned him admission to 2 top 25 colleges.</p>
<p>He literally flunked out for lack of studying. The work was super easy for him, he just didn't feel it was worth his time to do the work.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, I have seen African American students with very weak scores, but high grades, who came from horrendous school systems, graduate from second tiers and go on to successful graduate work at first tier universities.</p>