JBHE: Latest News for 1/14/10

Once Again, the University of Virginia Has the Highest Black Student Graduation Rate of Any Flagship State University in the Nation

Our latest report on graduation rates shows that by a large margin the University of Virginia has the highest black student graduation rate of any state-chartered institution in the nation. The black graduation rate at the university is 87 percent. The next-highest black student college completion rate at a flagship state university is at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. There, the black student graduation rate is 76 percent, 11 percentage points below the black student graduation rate at the University of Virginia. The University of California at Berkeley ranked third with a black student graduation rate of 72 percent. The University of Texas, the University of Michigan, the University of Florida, and the University of Georgia all had a black student graduation rate of at least 70 percent.

Ten other states have flagship universities that posted an African-American student graduation rate of 61 percent or higher. These are the state universities in Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, New York, Connecticut, South Carolina, Illinois, Washington, Alabama, and New Jersey.

Five states and the District of Columbia have flagship state-chartered universities at which the African-American student graduation rate is 30 percent or below. In addition to the University of the District of Columbia, the states that have flagship universities with a black student graduation rate of 30 percent or below are Alaska, South Dakota, North Dakota, New Mexico, and Montana.