RACE AND ETHNICITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Welcome! Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education provides a data-informed foundation for those working to close persistent equity gaps by providing a glimpse into the educational pathways of today’s college students and the educators who serve them.

Explore the Findings

This project examines data that provide a foundation from which the higher education community and its many stakeholders can draw insights, raise new questions, and make the case for why race and ethnicity still matter in American higher education. See the 2019 report Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education: A Status Report and the new 2020 Supplement. Download Reports >

Featured Content

Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education: 2020 Supplement

This 2020 supplement builds upon Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education: A Status Report. The supplement includes six major topics: the academic experiences of students prior to college, graduate and professional education, postsecondary career and technical education, student loan debt and repayment, and postsecondary faculty and staff. It also seeks to address the dearth of data available for Native students, highlighting the role Tribal Colleges and Universities play in serving Native students and communities.

Featured Data

Black students were more likely to borrow and faced greater difficulty repaying their loans than other groups

Black or African American students generally borrow more than others; Asian and Hispanic or Latino students accumulate lower than average levels of debt. About one-fifth of all bachelor’s degree recipients and associate degree recipients were in an income-driven repayment plan. Black borrowers were the most likely to experience a forbearance or delinquency among associate degree and bachelor’s degree recipients. Black students were also the only group who, across every level, owed more than what they borrowed after 12 years. Black bachelor’s degree recipients owed 105.5 percent and Black associate degree recipients owed 117.3 percent of their original loan.

86.4%

of Black bachelor’s degree
recipients borrowed

105.5%

Amount Black bachelor’s degree
recipients owed of their original
loan after 12 years

Ideas and Insights