In this article, we outline some of the key insights from our report on racial and ethnic equity in higher education in the United States. Intensified calls for racial and ethnic equity in every part of society have made the issue particularly salient.

5 For a closer look at college completion rates, see Diana Ellsworth, Erin Harding, Jonathan Law, and Duwain Pinder, “ Racial and ethnic equity in US higher education: Completion rates,” McKinsey, July 14, 2022. For Black and Native American students and for faculty from all underrepresented populations, there was effectively no progress from 2013 to 2020. Current rates of change suggest that it would take about 70 years for all not-for-profit institutions to reflect underrepresented students fully in their incoming student population, primarily driven by recent increases in Hispanic and Latino student attendance. These finding are not novel, but what is significant is the slow rate of progress. These issues deserve a separate discussion. Not included in this discussion are Asian Americans, who face a distinct set of challenges in higher education. 4 For a closer look at the data behind the racial and ethnic representation among students and faculty in higher education, see Diana Ellsworth, Erin Harding, Jonathan Law, and Duwain Pinder, “ Racial and ethnic equity in US higher education: Students and faculty,” McKinsey, July 14, 2022. Only 8 percent of institutions have at least equitable student representation while also helping students from underrepresented populations graduate at the same rate as the general US undergraduate population. Students from these groups also have worse academic outcomes as measured by graduation rates. 3 Two examples are the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education and the Liberal Arts Diversity Consortium.ĭespite ongoing efforts, our analysis suggests that historically marginalized racial and ethnic populations-Black, Hispanic and Latino, and Native American and Pacific Islander-are still underrepresented in higher education among undergraduates and faculty and in leadership. Ninety-five percent of R1 institutions also have a senior DEI executive, and diversity leaders in the sector have formed their own consortiums to share expertise. and McKinsey analysis shows that highly research-intensive (R1) institutions (131 as of 2020 2 Institutions with very high research activity as assessed by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education.) have publicly shared plans or aspirations regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). By 2036, more than 50 percent of US high school graduates will be people of color, 1 Peace Bransberger and Colleen Falkenstern, Knocking at the college door: Projections of high school graduates through 2037 – Executive summary, Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE), December 2020. Higher education in the United States (not-for-profit two-year and four-year colleges and universities) serves a diversifying society.

Ethnic percentages in us