Minority enrollment in nation's colleges continues to rise

Minority enrollment at colleges across the United States continues to rise, according to a study recently released by the American Council on Education.

Enrollment of minorities rose by 3.3 percent between 1998 and 1999, the most recent year for that data. The increase follows a 3.2-percent gain from the previous year. The study used only high school graduates as subjects.

Matriculation increased among all four major ethnic minorities —African Americans, Hispanics, Asian Americans and Native Americans, according to the study.

Despite the overall gains, there were wide disparities in the results for respective races and genders. Asian Americans had the highest college graduation rate among ethnic minorities at 66 percent, a figure which surpasses the rate for whites as well.

However, African Americans and Native Americans each achieved a graduation rate of 38 percent, the lowest among all ethnic groups in 2000.

University enrollment of African Americans rose 3.3 percent in 1998-99, but the gap between African-American women and men continues to grow.

The percentage of African-American women taking at least one college course rose to 43.9 percent, while only 33.8 percent of African-American men participated in higher education.

The research was conducted by the council's Office of Minorities in Higher Education.

The office's director William Harvey used a "half-full/half-empty" analogy to describe the report's findings.

"It's encouraging that progress is being made in some regards," Harvey said, "but the half-empty side is that even though we see those accomplishments and that progress, we still see a major gap in the level of achievement between minorities and their white counterparts." Harvey found the need to close the gap essential because of the changing ethnic composition of the United States.

"This is becoming an increasingly multicultural society, and we want to be attentive and concerned about raising the level of participation and success for minority groups to help them contribute to the economic, social and political wellbeing of this country," Harvey said. "If we don't pay attention, this gap will continue to grow, and that's not good in the long term wellbeing of this country."

On campus, students also regarded the results with mixed feelings. Stephen Caldwell '04, projects chair for the Black Student Union, said he found it troubling that a higher percentage of African Americans attended low-priced universities than did white students, according to the latest statistics.

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"In terms of financial costs and availability, many black families believe that college is not an option," Caldwell said, "[and] especially in terms of Ivy League type schools, it's not as if there is a shortage of qualified blacks. It's just that they don't apply, be it financial reasons or personal, like not wanting to deal with the attitudes on campuses."

The University's minority enrollment has increased slightly each of the last four years, with minorities representing 29.1 percent of the Class of 2006, a 0.2-percent increase over the Class of 2005.