By Kay Wicker
The first freshman class is entering college since the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action last year — and multiple elite colleges have already reported a decline in Black student enrollment.
After the Massachusetts Institute of Technology announced a decline in Black student enrollment, two more schools in the state are reporting the same. Amherst College and Tufts University, both in Massachusetts, as well as the University of Virginia, have reported drops in Black student enrollment to varying degrees. The schools in Boston have been hit harder, with Amherst’s Black student enrollment decreasing by a full 8%, according to the New York Times (NYT).
Initially enacted in 1965 and updated in 1968 to include gender, affirmative action ensured the equality of employment opportunity without regard to race, gender, religion, and national origin. Affirmative action in higher education ensured that all students received fair consideration for admission.
As the NYT further reports, many of the nation’s most elite and selective colleges have yet to release their data. The enrollment numbers across other races have also not been widely reported. However, the data that has been reported doesn’t bode well for what this could mean about Black student enrollment.
Meanwhile, according to a recent study by the American Insitute for Boys and Men, historically Black colleges and universities are experiencing a decline in Black male enrollment. The report found that presently, Black men account for 26% of the student population at HBCUs, down from 36% in the mid-1970s.
According to the study’s authors, there are several factors that have led to the decline in Black male HBCU students, including a lack of proper K-12 integration. “Targeted interventions in K-12 education in Black communities, increasing the representation of Black male teachers and expanding funding opportunities for HBCUs and their potential students could all help increase Black male enrollment,” the authors wrote, adding, “Reforms in these critical areas could help HBCUs realize their full potential in supporting the educational and economic advancement of Black men.”
The study also noted many of the benefits of an HBCU education, including that HBCUs have a higher track record of enrolling lower-income students compared to non-HBCUs, and these students are more than nearly twice as likely to experience upward economic mobility.
As PWIs and other non-HBCUs continue to grapple with the lack of affirmative action, it will be interesting to see how HBCUs’ numbers are impacted.
While more data is needed to fully understand the picture that is potentially being painted, college admissions have also been bracing for steep enrollment declines across the country for various reasons. Younger generations are choosing vocational programs over four-year institutions in greater numbers. Many are foregoing college and entering the workforce, citing the high costs of higher education. Not to mention, with declining American birth rates, there are simply going to be fewer younger adults.
When affirmative action was first placed on the chopping block last year, many Black leaders in higher education spoke up to warn against what could happen.
Carlotta Berry, a Black professor based in Indiana, said at the time, “When I sit back and reflect on the amount of microaggressions and bias that I have seen students experience, even in a world with affirmative action, I just don’t want to imagine what Black and brown students may experience now when they go from [being] one of two or three to possibly one of one.”
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