Black student enrollment at community colleges offering bachelor’s degrees is seeing slower growth than students of other races, according to analysis of federal data by Level UP, a nationwide network of CEOs, community college executives, and state and federal officials focused on improving Black students’ enrollment and completion in postsecondary programs.
Many colleges that previously only offered associate degrees and certificates are increasingly adding bachelor’s offerings to the mix. Associate-focused institutions with bachelor’s degrees enrolled 25.3% of Black community college students in 2021, compared to 27.9% of all community college students.
Ten years ago, community colleges with bachelor’s degrees enrolled about 10% of Black community college students and about the same proportion of community college students overall. In other words, while the proportion of Black community college students enrolled at institutions with bachelor’s degrees has more than doubled, it has not increased at quite the same rate as overall enrollment.
State-level data and data notes are available here.
