For the past five years, I have prepared listings of the colleges and universities across the United States that confer the most degrees to students of color for Black Issues In Higher Education.
Against a backdrop of rapid social change and the increasing economic importance of a college degree, I researched this national degree-completion data over a five-year period from 1988-89 through 1992-93 in search of change. During this period, the total number of annual degrees conferred, from associate to doctorate, increased by just over 17 percent — from approximately 1.9 million to 2.2 million. This works out to an, average annual percentage increase of 4.1 percent.
During this five-year period, the average annual percentage increase in degrees conferred to minorities and non-U.S. citizens has more than doubled the growth rate among degrees conferred to white students as illustrated in Figure 1. The minority growth rate ranged from 7.7 percent annually for African Americans to 9.3 percent for Hispanics. However, as Figure 2 illustrates, these percentage increases have not altered significantly the gap between the trend lines.
[Figures 1-2 ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
The modest effect of this higher growth rate in degrees conferred to minorities is further demonstrated by examining the distribution of degrees by race a the beginning and end of this time period. Table 2 provides this comparison.
Table 2. Distribution of Degrees by Race, 1988-89 vs. 1992-93 Racial/Ethnic Group 1988-89 1992-93 Change Non-resident Alien 3.9% 4.5% 0.6% Black, Non-Hispanic 5.7% 6.5% 0.8% American Indian/ Alaskan Native 0.5% 0.5% 0.1% Asian or Pacific Islander 3.4% 3.9% 0.6% Hispanic 4.1% 5.0% 0.9% Total Minority 13.7% 15.9% 2.2% White, non-Hispanic 78.8% 76.3% -2.5% Unknown 3.7% 3.3% -0.4%
The percentage of all degrees going to white students has decreased from just under 79 percent to just over 76 percent, while the percentage awarded to minorities has increased from about 14 percent to 16 percent.
