ERIC Number: ED606027
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2020-Jun
Pages: 61
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Racial and Ethnic Representation in Postsecondary Education. Research Report
Monarrez, Tomas; Washington, Kelia
Urban Institute
The US population is becoming more educated, but large gaps in postsecondary attainment based on race or ethnicity remain, particularly at more selective colleges. As a growing number of jobs require a college degree, it is imperative to increase college access among all racial and ethnic groups. In this report, we examined whether different racial and ethnic groups have equal access to higher education by looking at representativeness across postsecondary institutions. We constructed a new measure that compares each college's racial and ethnic demographics with the demographics of the college's market, evaluating whether each racial or ethnic group is over- or underrepresented at individual colleges and college sectors, relative to that college's or sector's pool of potential students. We confirm the presence and persistence of large national gaps in representation and find that Black and Hispanic students are underrepresented at more selective schools in ways that cannot be explained by differences in community demographics.
Descriptors: Postsecondary Education, Access to Education, Race, Ethnicity, Disproportionate Representation, College Students, Student Characteristics, School Demography, African American Students, Hispanic American Students, Community Characteristics, White Students, Asian American Students, American Indian Students, Pacific Americans, Public Colleges, Private Colleges, Proprietary Schools, Two Year Colleges, Black Colleges, Tribally Controlled Education, Land Grant Universities
Urban Institute. 2100 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20037. Tel: 202-261-5687; Fax: 202-467-5775; Web site: http://www.urban.org
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Numerical/Quantitative Data
Education Level: Postsecondary Education; Higher Education; Two Year Colleges
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Joyce Foundation; Lumina Foundation
Authoring Institution: Urban Institute
Identifiers - Location: United States; Michigan (Detroit)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A