Average Graduation Rates of Black Students at Public HBCUs

HBCUs are located in 20 states and 2 territories, mostly in the Southern United States. This note reports the weighted averages of the 6-year graduation rates of black students enrolled in 4-year HBCU programs by states and territories, where the weights are the black enrollments in the HBCUs in each state or territory. It finds that the average graduation rates for public HBCUs in some states and territories are substantially higher than the average graduation rates in other states and territories. These substantial differences suggest the possibility that changes in the public policies of the lagging states and territories might raise the graduation rates of the black students enrolled in the public HBCUs in those states and territories. (Note: Source of  black enrollments and graduation rates for the HBCUs = IPEDS Data Center)

A previous note on this blog enabled readers to compare the black student enrollments and their 6-year graduation rates at each of the HBCUs that offer four year bachelors degree programs. (See Graduation Rates of HBCUs -- Public & Private by States). The present note enables readers to compare the black enrollments and graduation rates in public and private HBCUs by states and territories.

Table 1 (below) provides a high level overview of all HBCUs. Column (2) shows the total number of black students enrolled in private HBCUs and public HBCUs in the Fall 2011; column (3) shows the share of black enrollments in private vs. public HBCUs; and column (4) shows the weighted 6-year average graduation rates of all private HBCUs in all states vs. the weighted 6-year average graduation rate of all public HBCUs -- where the weights are the black student enrollments in the public and private HBCUs, respectively. Please note the following differences:

• The public HBCUs enroll more than twice as many black students as the private HBCUs, i.e., 69% in public HBCUs vs. 31% in private HBCUs
   
• The average graduation rates of black students in private HBCUs is 7 percent higher than the average graduation rates of black students in public HBCUs, i.e., 39% for private HBCUs vs. 31% for public HBCUs.

Table 1. Overview of Black Enrollments and Graduation Rates

HBCUs	Black Enrollment Fall 2011 (2)	Share (3)	Weighted 6-Year Graduation Rates (4)
Private	61707	31%	39%
Public	140131	69%	32%
Total	201838	100%	34%

Table 2 (below) contains four columns of data. The first column contains a list of the HBCU states and territories; column (2) contains the total number of HBCUs in each state, followed by the number of private  and public HBCUs; column (3) contains the number of black students enrolled in all of the private and public HBCUs in each state; and column (4) contains the 6-year weighted averages of the private and public HBCUs in each state, where the weights are the black student enrollments in the private and public HBCUs in each state.

The states are listed in the order of the average 6-year graduation rates of their public HBCUs; in case of ties by the number of public HBCUs; and in case of additional ties by the alphabetical order of their names. Please note the following differences:

• The leading states -- North Carolina 40% and Florida 40% -- have average 6-year graduation rates that are two to three times as high as the lagging states -- Missouri 18%, District of Columbia 17%, and Oklahoma 12%.
   
• Whereas one might have expected to find that the graduation rates for private HBCUs would  usually be higher than the average graduation rates of the public HBCUs in each state, this is not the case. Of the 12 states that have both public and private HBCUs, the average grad rates for private HBCUs is higher than the public rates in six states -- Mississippi, Georgia, Virginia, Alabama, Louisiana, and the District of Columgia; but the public HBCUs also lead the private HBCUs in six states -- North Carolina, Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Arkansas.

Table 2. Average 6-Year Graduation Rates of Public & Private HBCUs by States

States … Private/Public … HBCUs Fall 2011	# HBCUs (2)	Black Enrollment 4-Year Degree Programs (3)	Black  6-Year Grad. Rates (4)
North Carolina	10	29257
private	5	6288	30%
public	5	22969	40%
Florida	4	15541
private	3	5098	35%
public	1	10443	40%
Mississippi	5	13070
private	2	1778	38%
public	3	11292	36%
Georgia	7	18525
private	4	7760	52%
public	3	10765	35%
Virginia	6	16045
private	4	6068	52%
public	2	9977	35%
Delaware	1	2840
public	1	2840	35%
South Carolina	6	10625
private	5	7077	29%
public	1	3548	35%
Tennessee	5	8882
private	4	3549	31%
public	1	5333	35%
Pennsylvania	2	2434
public	2	2434	33%
Maryland	4	15406
public	4	15406	29%
Alabama	9	16838
private	7	8393	31%
public	2	8445	29%
Louisiana	4	15040
private	2	3301	45%
public	2	11739	26%
Virgin Islands	1	1706
public	1	1706	26%
Texas	7	15333
private	5	3411	16%
public	2	11922	23%
West Virginia	2	528
public	2	528	23%
Arkansas	3	4675
private	2	1808	15%
public	1	2867	23%
Ohio	2	2893
private	1	563	30%
public	1	2330	23%
Kentucky	1	1322
public	1	1322	22%
Missouri	2	2625
public	2	2625	18%
District of Columbia	2	8936
private	1	6808	61%
public	1	2128	17%
Oklahoma	1	1980
public	1	1980	12%
Grand Total	84	201838	34%

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Related Notes:

• HBCU Enrollments ... May 2013
• Graduation Rates of Black Students at HBCUs -- Public & Private by States ... May 2013
• Why North Carolina's Five Public HBCUs Are Still Needed -- Part 1 ... April 2013