Several public flagship institutions in the Great Lakes region are falling short in their objective of being a beacon for social and economic mobility for low-income and minority students, according to a recently published report by the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP).
IHEP’s report offers “equity snapshots” of The Ohio State University, Indiana University – Bloomington, the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign (UIUC), the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor, the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities and the University of Wisconsin – Madison.
Analyses reveal that “deep racial and economic inequities in access and completion” persist at the six flagships in the Great Lakes region despite progress over the years. Moreover, underrepresented minority (URM) students’ and low-income students’ graduation rates are lower than their White and higher-income students, the report found.
“While the schools are enrolling more underrepresented minority students today than in the past, these enrollment increases have not kept pace with the changing state demographics,” said IHEP president Dr. Michelle Asha Cooper. “In effect, students of color are more underrepresented today than they were 15 years ago.”
Each flagship’s equity snapshot breaks findings down into racial and socioeconomic categories around who has access to the flagship, who succeeds on campus and what policies are in place that may promote or hinder access and academic success for underrepresented groups. Researchers analyzed data from IPEDS and the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education.
OSU-Main Campus:
IHEP’s report found a 10 percentage point access gap between the number of racial minorities that enrolled as first year students compared to the number that graduated from high school in the state. URMs graduate at a rate of 76 percent while White students’ graduation rate is 84 percent.
