Essay/Brief
May 22, 2023

Formal and Informal Mentoring to Broaden the Pathway into Graduate Education

Although the population of U.S. postsecondary students has become more diverse over time, racially and ethnically minoritized students remain underrepresented in graduate fields.
Video
November 30, 2020

Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education: 2020 Supplement Release

On November 10, 2020 the American Council on Education hosted the “Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education: 2020 Supplement Release”. The virtual release convening is available to watch.
Essay/Brief
November 19, 2020

Distant Equity: The Promise and Pitfalls of Online Learning for Students of Color in Higher Education

Access to higher education has never been more important. Globalization, automation, and the Internet have fundamentally reshaped the economy by shifting opportunity away from workers with high school diplomas and toward those with postsecondary training and credentials (Foote and Ryan 2015).
Essay/Brief
November 10, 2020

Bridging the Gap in Native American Attainment in Higher Education: The Role of Native American-Serving Nontribal Institutions

Native American-Serving Nontribal Institutions (NASNTIs) play a crucial role in meeting the educational needs of American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) students throughout the country.
Essay/Brief
November 10, 2020

Segregation in Higher Education and Unequal Paths to College Completion: Implications for Policy and Research

Access to quality higher education is key to socioeconomic mobility. The other side of the coin is equally true: when such access is limited by financial constraints, information barriers, and lack of academic preparedness, socioeconomic mobility is also limited.
Essay/Brief
November 10, 2020

The Racialization of the Student Debt Crisis

Failure to disaggregate the borrower population in these conversations ignores substantial portions of our society whose student loan experience is quite different: Black borrowers and their families are accumulating more debt on average and their struggles with repayment result in some of the highest default rates.
Essay/Brief
November 10, 2020

Career and Technical Education in the Learning Economy: Toward a Promise of Racial Equity

Career and technical education (CTE) has the potential to transform postsecondary education by increasing equity and responding to skill gaps in the workforce by integrating academic and work-based learning.
Essay/Brief
November 10, 2020

Undoing Years of Affirmative Action: The Growth of Non-Tenure-Track Faculty

When thinking about equity gaps in faculty hiring and promotion, campus leaders tend to think exclusively about tenure-track faculty. Yet, tenured or tenure-track faculty make up only 30 percent of the faculty nationally.
Essay/Brief
November 10, 2020

An Early Warning in the Academy: Mental Health and Racial Equity in Graduate Education

Racial and ethnic equity in graduate education has taken on new prominence within higher education as students of color with bachelor’s degrees are enrolling in graduate education at rates similar to or in some cases even higher than that of college graduates overall (Espinosa et al. 2019).
Infographic
May 18, 2020

Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education Spotlight: American Indian or Alaska Native Students

The number of American Indian or Alaska Native students accessing and completing postsecondary credentials increased between 1995–96 and 2015–16. However, we still lack precise, national data on many educational outcomes for Native students.
Infographic
May 18, 2020

Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education Spotlight: Asian Students

The representation of Asians among undergraduate and graduate students remained relatively unchanged between 1995–96 and 2015–16. As a group, Asian students exhibited some of the highest persistence and completion rates of all racial and ethnic groups.
Infographic
May 18, 2020

Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education Spotlight: Black Students

The number of Black students accessing and completing postsecondary credentials increased between 1995–96 and 2015–16. In 2015–16, Black students accounted for a larger share of high school completers, undergraduate and graduate enrollment, and graduate school completers than 20 years prior.
Infographic
May 18, 2020

Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education Spotlight: Hispanic Students

Over the last two decades, as the U.S. population has grown more racially and ethnically diverse, so too have students across all levels of higher education. The Hispanic population’s growing numbers and rising postsecondary enrollment rates figured centrally in both trends.
Infographic
May 18, 2020

Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education Spotlight: Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander Students

Native Hawaiians or other Pacific Islanders represent the smallest share of all students enrolled in higher education. Due to the size of this population, we still lack precise, national data on many educational outcomes for Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander students.
Infographic
May 18, 2020

Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education Spotlight: White Students

The total share of White students enrolled in higher education declined between 1995–96 and 2015–16, as the student body became more racially and ethnically diverse. While more students of color have gained access to postsecondary education, equity gaps in enrollment, persistence, completion, and employment and earnings remain.
Infographic
May 18, 2020

Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education Spotlight: Students of More than One Race

The total share of students who identified as more than one race increased from 0.6 percent in 1995–96 to 3.3 percent in 2015–16. As the student body accessing and enrolling in higher education continues to diversify, it will become increasingly important to understand the educational pathways and experiences of students of more than one race.
Interview
February 24, 2020

Let’s Talk About Race: An Interview with Thuy Thi Nguyen

Thuy Thi Nguyen serves as the seventh president of Foothill College in Los Altos Hills, California, a position she has held since July 2016. Nguyen is the first Vietnamese American college president in the country.
Interview
February 24, 2020

Let’s Talk About Race: An Interview with Ted Mitchell

Former college president and top federal policymaker Ted Mitchell became president of the American Council on Education (ACE) on September 1, 2017. Mitchell brings a wide array of experience and accomplishments from across the higher education sector to ACE, as well as a longstanding focus on helping more students gain access to a postsecondary education and complete their degrees.
Interview
January 27, 2020

Let’s Talk About Race: An Interview with Damian Fernandez

Damian Fernandez is the Albert and Suzanne Lord Chancellor of Penn State Abington. Fernandez has established a distinguished career as a teacher, scholar, and administrator. As chancellor, he oversees approximately 3,700 students, over 330 faculty, 21 baccalaureate degree programs, an MBA in partnership with Great Valley, an NCAA Division III athletics program, and numerous outreach initiatives and partnerships that benefit the region and beyond. 
Interview
December 10, 2019

Let’s Talk About Race: An Interview with Kevin McDonald

Kevin McDonald is the University of Virginia’s (UVA) vice president for diversity, equity, and inclusion. He joined UVA after serving as the chief diversity officer and vice chancellor for inclusion, diversity, and equity at the University of Missouri System and the University of Missouri–Columbia.
Essay/Brief
December 10, 2019

Defining “Servingness” at Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs): Practical Implications for HSI Leaders

The American Council on Education’s Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education report provides timely data about the continuing significance of race when it comes to enrollment and completion patterns of racially minoritized groups. Most notably, postsecondary institutions are becoming more racially and ethnically diverse (Espinosa et al. 2019).
Essay/Brief
December 10, 2019

Becoming “Latinx Responsive”: Raising Institutional and Systemic Consciousness in California’s HSIs

Much of the diversification in American society and the higher education system is due in part to the increasing Latinx population. Between 1995–96 and 2015–16, the representation of Latinx students among all undergraduate students nearly doubled from 10.3 percent to 19.8 percent (Espinosa et al. 2019). This trend is predicted to continue, with Latinx students seeing the largest growth among all public high school graduates by 2025.
Blog Post
December 8, 2019

A Case for Racial Equity as a Policy Focus

California is among the first eight states to have banned affirmative action based on race. Yet, it is the only state with what is known as a Student Equity Policy—a policy that gives community colleges millions of dollars to address inequality in access, retention, degree completion, and transfer to four-year institutions.
Essay/Brief
November 19, 2019

Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education: A Look at Low-Income Undergraduates

As the United States has become more racially and ethnically diverse over the past several decades, so too has higher education. More students of color are seeking a postsecondary credential than ever before. The increase in access for students of color has led to higher levels of educational attainment and the opportunity for upward socioeconomic mobility for a more diverse student population.
Interview
November 18, 2019

Let’s Talk About Race: An Interview with Ronald A. Crutcher

Ronald A. Crutcher is a national leader in higher education, a distinguished classical musician, and a professor of music. He became president and professor of music at the University of Richmond in 2015, having previously served as president of Wheaton College in Massachusetts for 10 years.
Podcast
October 15, 2019

Asian American Students in Higher Ed…It’s Complicated

Just a week after a district court judge rejected claims that Harvard University intentionally discriminates against Asian American applicants, Julie J. Park, associate professor of education at the University of Maryland, College Park, talks with hosts Jon Fansmith and Lorelle Espinosa about what this decision means for the future of diversity in higher education.
Interview
October 15, 2019

Let’s Talk About Race: An Interview with Sylvia Hurtado

Sylvia Hurtado is professor, Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, at the University of California, Los Angeles, in the Division of Higher Education and Organizational Change. She served as director of the Higher Education Research Institute for over a decade.
Interview
September 16, 2019

Let’s Talk About Race: An Interview with Beverly Daniel Tatum

Beverly Daniel Tatum is president emerita of Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia. Tatum is a nationally recognized scholar and authority on issues of race in America and a licensed clinical psychologist whose areas of research include Black families in White communities, racial identity in teens, and the role of race in the classroom.

Essay/Brief
August 21, 2019

An Uneven Playing Field: The Complex Educational Experiences of Asian Americans

Growing up in Ohio as the child of Korean immigrants, I had a narrow view of who Asian Americans were. I grew up in a relatively affluent suburb, and most of my Asian American friends were the children of similarly well-educated immigrants.

Podcast
August 13, 2019

Lifting Up Men of Color

Multiple barriers stand between African American and Latino men and college completion. It’s a complex problem that secondary and postsecondary institutions, educators, and policymakers alike have been trying to address, yet finding ways to apply research to practice requires a community-wide effort.

Video
August 1, 2019

We Need to Talk About Race in Higher Education

Shaun Harper emphasizes the importance of discussing race in higher education.

Video
August 1, 2019

Tackling Inequities in Enrollment, Completion, and Workforce Outcomes

Sandy Baum discusses the broad range of issues tackled by Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education: A Status Report.
Video
August 1, 2019

Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education: A Comprehensive Review

Cecilia Rios-Aguilar finds the comprehensive integration of data in Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education: A Status Report important for broad audiences.

Video
August 1, 2019

Debunking the Myth that Race Doesn’t Matter

Julie J. Park highlights how data in Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education: A Status Report show that race does matter.

Video
April 9, 2019

ACE2019: Talking About Race

In this plenary session at ACE2019, two of the country’s leading voices and best-selling authors on race and racism—Beverly Daniel Tatum and Robin DiAngelo—discussed the role of race in the United States and on college campuses, how university leaders can engage their communities on race, and what it will take to close equity gaps.

Video
February 14, 2019

Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education: A Status Report Release Convening

On February 14, 2019, the American Council on Education hosted the “Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education: A Status Report Release Convening”. The livestreamed event is available to watch.

Essay/Brief
February 14, 2019

Redoubling Our Efforts: How Institutions Can Affect Faculty Diversity

As students across the country protested incidents of racism and discrimination on and off campus in 2015–16, they called attention to the small numbers of Black, Latinx, and Native American professors on their campuses, and faculty diversity has consistently appeared on activists’ lists of demands.

Essay/Brief
February 14, 2019

Student Debt: The Unique Circumstances of African American Students

Discussions of student debt frequently treat borrowing for college as a general problem. As a result, they pay inadequate attention to the sharp differences in borrowing and repayment patterns across demographic groups.

Essay/Brief
February 14, 2019

The Problematic Nature of Racial and Ethnic Categories in Higher Education

Racial and ethnic categorizations in society (and at higher education institutions) are not neutral, but rather they are informed by historical, social, political, and economic contexts.

Essay/Brief
February 14, 2019

Taking History, Funding, and Current Challenges into Account When Discussing Race, Ethnicity, and Completion in Community Colleges

The typical college student is no longer the image many of us hold in our heads—an 18- to 22-year-old who leaves his or her parents’ home for the first time, ready to begin the journey at an ivy-walled four-year college or university. Rather, many of today’s college students are beyond the age of 24, employed at least part time, and raising a family.
Video
February 13, 2019

ACE Unveils ‘Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education: A Status Report’

Lorelle Espinosa, ACE vice president of research, and Jonathan Turk, ACE associate director of research, explain why ACE’s report on the state of race and ethnicity in higher education today is critical for those working to close persistent equity gaps – and make the case for why race still matters in American higher education.