A National Imperative: Addressing Declining Black Student Enrollments to Fully Realize Black Leaner Excellence in Higher Ed
Project: Realizing Black Learner Excellence in Higher Ed| Partnership length: 2021-Present | HCM Service Area Spotlight: Market + Policy Research and Analysis, Designing, Evaluating and Implementing Policy Agendas, Strategic Communications, Campaigns and Coalitions| Portfolio Category: Postsecondary
Together with EducationCounsel, Achieving the Dream, and with support from Lumina Foundation, HCM Strategists is building a coalition to enact a national call to action that addresses decades-long declining enrollments among Black learners.
OVERVIEW
Since 2011, Black student college enrollments have been declining steadily, particularly at community colleges, which have historically represented a critical access point for Black learners as relatively affordable, open-access institutions. The ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on students’ health, safety and economical security have only accelerated these declines.
Between 2011-2019, Black community college enrollments dropped by 26%, representing a loss of almost 300,000 students. Adding in the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic, Black community college enrollment in 2020 dropped by another 100,000 students, an enrollment level similar to enrollments in 2000-01. Taking into account available public data since 2020, declines today are closer to a 44% drop nationally in Black community college enrollments.
It’s time to address the systemic barriers Black students face in Higher Ed. We recognize that these barriers to college access and opportunity are systemic, and the solutions must be as well. That’s why HCM set out to study national data and coalesce partners and experts into leading a call to action for systemic policy changes that improve outcomes not just for Black learners, but ultimately all learners who choose to pursue a degree and credential beyond high school.
OUR WORK
In January 2022, HCM Strategists, with funding support from Lumina Foundation, launched a research inquiry with Postsecondary Analytics, a data analytics firm that specializes in research and analysis for states, systems and institutions with students’ interests at heart. Together, our team conducted an extensive review of enrollment declines from three national data sources: the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) and the American Community Survey (ACS). Through this review, our team found glaring and disproportional declines in Black college enrollment, and particularly enrollment at the nation’s higher education gateway—technical and community colleges.
Subsequent analysis of the causes of this decline will focus on integrated, holistic solutions for policy leaders and funders. This systematic approach is vital as we acknowledge the role that systemic racism, oppression, and persistent racial wealth gaps play in access and success in postsecondary education attainment. Understanding and addressing these underlying causes, we believe, will not only serve Black individuals more justly, but all learners.
Read our Research Findings: A National Imperative: Addressing Black Student Enrollment
Decades of progress in educational opportunity and economic mobility have been erased.
Our work is just beginning. We believe that a bipartisan, sustained commitment to Black learners is needed to make our nation’s postsecondary education system an engine of economic opportunity and national progress.
+Learn more: https://www.community4blacklearnerexcellence.com/
PARTNERS
IMPACT
Our organizations are committed to listening to experts and supporting a national call to action to drive change at the federal, state and institutional levels and improve educational opportunities, accessibility and economic mobility among Black learners. We believe delivering philanthropic, state and federal commitments to this call to action is necessary now to begin to make real a bipartisan, sustained commitment to make our nation’s postsecondary education system an engine of economic opportunity and national progress.
Our Expert Advisory Committee: Uniting key leaders to develop strategic, actionable policy recommendations at the federal, state and institutional levels.
In September 2022, we convened an Expert Advisory Committee to engage key figures in higher ed to find creative solutions to systemically address Black student enrollment declines at community colleges.
Chaired by Dr. Keith Curry, President of Compton College, our Expert Advisory Committee is convening throughout the year to dedicated sessions for sharing knowledge and expertise and for recommending strategies to tackle the issues facing declining enrollment of Black students in community colleges. There will be brainstorming sessions used to introduce data; a problem statement; and a design challenge that solves for this issue. The main goal is to spark innovative and intentional solutions and recommendations.
Enacting a Call to Action
The Expert Advisory Committee presents the ideal opportunity to bring individuals together from different backgrounds and experiences — not just researchers but also practitioners and those who have served this population of students. By leveraging a diverse variety of perspectives, we are much more likely to think outside the box and explore new ideas to address this challenge and frame a call to action that will explore new angles in addressing equity gaps.
