Black Student College Graduation Rates Dip in Maryland

The regents of the University System of Maryland report that black student graduation rates at the system’s eight four-year colleges have declined. Systemwide, 46 percent of the black students who entered college in 2000 earned a bachelor’s degree by 2006. For white students, the graduation rate is 64 percent. The 18 percentage point racial gap increased from 15 percentage points the year before.

The most notable decline in black student graduation rates occurred at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, a historically black institution. There the black student graduation rate dropped from 48 percent to 41 percent.

One encouraging note: The black student graduation rate at the flagship University of Maryland campus at College Park increased over the past year.

Copyright © 2007. The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. All rights reserved.