PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Federal education data show more black and Latino students are attending college than ever, but the share of those earning college degrees lags that of white students.
The Providence Journal reports that an analysis of data at Rhode Island’s three public colleges shows graduation rates for black and Latino students trail those of white students by 5 to 15 percentage points.
The gap in graduation rates from 2003 to 2013 narrowed at Rhode Island College, but changed little at the University of Rhode Island.
Racial disparities in graduation rates are starkest at Rhode Island’s public colleges. The gap in graduation rates between black and Latino students and white students at the University of Rhode Island and Rhode Island College is five times the gap at the state’s private four-year colleges.
