Georgia's public colleges and universities are doing an average job of enrolling and graduating black students along with hiring black faculty members, according to a report released Tuesday.
The state was tied for 18th with Tennessee in rankings exploring the ability for black students to succeed published by the University of Southern California’s Race & Equity Center. Massachusetts had the best ranking while Louisiana had the lowest ranking.
Researchers based the rankings of schools on the percentage of black students in comparison to the state’s black population, graduation rates, the black student-to-faculty ratio and gender breakdown of black students.
Georgia’s largest schools received the lowest marks for the percentage of black students in comparison to the state’s black population. Georgia State scored an “A,” but the University of Georgia, Georgia Tech and Kennesaw State each received “F” grades. About 36 percent of the state’s 18- to 24-year-olds are black. Georgia State is the only one of the four exceeding the statewide average.
The universities fared better in other categories.
UGA, Georgia State and Kennesaw State each received an "A" for graduation rates while Georgia Tech got a "B." Georgia State's graduation rate for black students exceeded its overall graduation rate while graduation rates for UGA, Georgia State and Georgia Tech were close to the overall rates.
The researchers recommended colleges recruit students in different areas, high schools better prepare black students for college and schools improve the work environment to better recruit black faculty members.
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