Broken Mirrors: Black Student Representation at Public State Colleges and Universities (original) (raw)

As tax-exempt, taxpayer-supported entities, U.S. public colleges and universities should advance the public interest by ensuring all U.S. residents-regardless of race or ethnicity-have an opportunity to earn a college education. The idea that public institutions should reflect the demographics of the population has been a longstanding proposition of The Education Trust 1 and is grounded in the belief that a more racially and ethnically representative public higher education system can help reduce the racial and ethnic inequities that exist in this country. Public institutions are particularly critical because they enroll nearly 75 percent of the country's undergraduates and produce nearly 70 percent of undergraduate degree earners. Moreover, compared to for-profit and nonprofit colleges and universities, publics are able to offer a more affordable path to a college education, thanks to taxpayer support from states. With these factors in mind, it is imperative that we scrutinize the racial and ethnic composition of our public colleges and universities. It is particularly important that we pay close attention to the college enrollment and completion data for Latinos, as they are the second largest racial and ethnic group in the country but have the lowest college attainment among the nation's major racial and ethnic groups. 2 As our economy becomes more reliant on a college-educated workforce, 3 failure to improve college attainment for Latinos will threaten the nation's economic security and competitiveness. Change will require addressing a broken immigration system, racism in our P-12 schools and institutions of higher education, and the racial and ethnic biases that permeate our society (e.g., criminal justice, housing, etc.). While Latinos are not a monolithic group, and factors-such as age, language, cultural background, race, 4 and citizenship status-may complicate efforts to expand effective pathways to a college degree for Latinos, both native-and foreign-born, higher education leaders must do more to advance Latino success.