HBCUs Are Producing a Smaller Share of All Bachelor’s Degrees Awarded to African Americans

Data from the National Science Foundation shows that the percentage of all bachelor’s degrees awarded to African Americans by the nation’s historically black colleges and universities declined significantly during the first decade of this century. In 2000, 24.5 percent of all bachelor’s degrees earned by African Americans were awarded by HBCUs. By 2008, only 19.0 percent of all bachelor’s degrees awarded to African Americans were from HBCUs.

The decline is even more pronounced when we consider degrees in the sciences. In 2000, 26.2 percent of all bachelor’s degree awarded to African Americans in scientific disciplines were given out by HBCUs. By 2008 the figure had declined to 20.5 percent.

It must be noted that about 13 percent of all African-Americans student in higher education are enrolled in HBCUs. But these institutions produce 19 percent of all African-American bachelor’s degrees.

Copyright © 2011. The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. All rights reserved.