African-American Enrollments in Free Fall at the University of South Carolina

In 1999 blacks were a whopping 19 percent of all undergraduate enrollments at the University of South Carolina. This was the highest percentage of blacks in the student body of any of the nation’s flagship state universities. Since that time the number of students enrolled at the university has grown by about 3,000. But black enrollments are down by nearly 500 students. Today blacks make up just 14 percent of the undergraduate students at the University of South Carolina.

According to university officials, there are several factors that have contributed to the decline in black enrollments.

• Higher tuition costs have made it more difficult for low-income blacks to afford a college education.
• South Carolina’s public schools are having a difficult time producing graduates who are prepared for college. About 55 percent of blacks who graduate from South Carolina high schools need some remedial study in college.
• High-ranking colleges and universities from around the nation are increasing their recruitment efforts at predominantly black high schools in the state.

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