Drop in Dental School Enrollments at Public Universities Where Affirmative Action in Admissions Has Been Banned

As reported in last week’s JBHE Weekly Bulletin, nationwide black enrollments in dental schools in the United States are up more than 30 percent over the past five years. But there has been a noticeable drop in black enrollments at publicly operated dental schools in states that have banned affirmative action in their admissions programs. At state-operated dental schools in Florida, California, and Washington, enrollments of black students are down since 1995 when race-sensitive admissions were still practiced in each state.

The most dramatic decreases in black enrollments have occurred at the University of Florida and UCLA. In 1995 there were 21 black students enrolled at the dental school at the University of Florida. In 2006 this figure has dropped to nine. This is a reduction of 52 percent. At UCLA, there were 12 students enrolled in the dental school in 1995 prior to the ban on race-sensitive admissions. The latest figures show that there are four blacks enrolled at the UCLA dental school. This is a decrease of two thirds since 1995.

Copyright © 2006. The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. All rights reserved.