A Comparative Analysis of Predominantly Black Institutions and Historically Black Colleges and Universities
This paper provides a descriptive analysis of Predominantly Black Institutions (PBIs), Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), and Non-Black Institutions (NBIs). Specifically, we examine how the different two-year institutions in the U.S. compare in regards to characteristics, resources, and student outcomes using data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). Our findings show that PBIs largely mirror HBCUs; they have similar graduation and transfer rates, similar levels of resources, and generally cost the same to attend. Additionally, HBCUs appear to offer Black students the most same-race human capital and financial support, and dedicate more of its finance to helping students, although PBIs receive more federal aid and revenues. We conclude that PBIs may benefit Black students to a greater extent than NBIs, but they do not seem to offer better resources than HBCUs. Given the limited research on PBIs, our study sheds a light on the important role that PBIs play in African American higher education and what they can add to the historical work of HBCUs.
Under review at the Journal of Diversity in Higher Education.
We offer the first systematic assessment of the factors thought to account for the quality and prestige of public research universities in the United States. We take account, too, of those potential causal factors identified in both contemporary and early descriptive research on these institutions. Our findings indicate that attributes of universities and their states from the first half of the twentieth century as well as some of their contemporary attributes are powerful predictors of their success in National Research Council peer evaluations of their research programs. The results provide a foundation for efforts to account systematically for the research achievements of these universities and evidence on state public policy influences on those research achievements.
College enrollments among Latinx students have increased by 12 percent in the last 14 years, but the group's overall graduation rate has only increased by 5 percent, leading researchers to reevaluate the predictors of completion for Latinx students. This study explores the relationship between Latinx graduation rates and various forms of representation. Random effect modeling using institutional‐level data collected from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, 2008–2011, is used to examine the relationship between Latinx graduation rates, peer, faculty, and structural representation. Results suggest that structural representation and behaviors are important predictors of Latinx students’ persistence toward graduation. Specifically, historically black colleges and universities fare better than other structures in representing and supporting Latinx students. Conclusion Institutions and policymakers seeking to improve the college completion rates of Latinx students should think beyond descriptive representation and consider reducing the structural barriers to Latinx students’ success.