Making College More Accessible for America’s ‘New Majority’

A new report from Corporation grantee National College Attainment Network highlights four school districts that are successfully ‘moving the college access needle’ for students of color

By Carnegie Corporation of New York March 1, 2021

Future of Learning & Work

Even as people of color become the majority of the U.S. population, the proportion of college students of color was just 43.7 percent in 2018, according to new research from Corporation grantee National College Attainment Network (NCAN). More energy and focus is needed to help this blooming majority succeed in their postsecondary education, and NCAN’s newest publication, Moving the College Access Needle for the New Majority: Lessons From Leading Communities, highlights school systems that are making successful strides and provides concrete, actionable recommendations for educators, policymakers, and community partners.

The communities highlighted in the publication — School District of Philadelphia, Miami-Dade County Public Schools, School District of Lancaster, and Brownsville Independent School District — are increasing successful postsecondary outcomes for students by focusing on issues such as post-high school matriculation and completion data, individualized college prep in the form of credit classes and application assistance, and student support from community-based organizations.

What creates true success for students and districts as a whole is both internal and external collaboration, according to the NCAN publication. Leaders, administrators, and staff are often so focused on their respective “lanes” that they can miss the big picture: “successfully preparing students to identify, pursue, and thrive in a viable, fulfilling postsecondary pathway of their interest.”

TOP: Graduates take selfies during the Black Commencement at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., on May 23, 2017. (Credit: Keith Bedford/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)