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The real scandal in college admissions

Recent headlines have exposed the alleged illegal conduct by a few wealthy, powerful individuals to influence the college admissions process. Yet this is just one piece of much greater improprieties in postsecondary admissions exist in plain sight, impact thousands of students, and are perfectly legal. The devastating disadvantage that students of color and low-income students have in enrollment and completion in higher education.

The share of Black students in Michigan’s public colleges falls far short of the share of Black adults in Michigan. In fact, Michigan ranks among the bottom three states nationally for the percent of Black student enrolled at a public four-year college or university, compared to the racial composition of Michigan. For Michigan four-year colleges and universities to reflect the general population, more than 23,000 additional Black students would have to enroll.

What’s more, the share of Black graduates falls far short of their White peers. Just 25.9 percent of Black Michigan adults have a college degree, compared to 41.6 percent of White adults in Michigan. 

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A new report from the Education Trust, “Broken Mirrors,” reveals that, with few exceptions, Black students and graduates are severely underrepresented in public colleges and universities in almost every state. What’s more, only three states grant Black students their fair share of bachelor’s degrees. In fact, some states would have to significantly increase their Black student enrollment and double or triple their share of Black bachelor’s degree earners to even come close to achieving parity.

Check out how Michigan is doing with our interactive state data tool. Then, read the full report and let us know how you plan to push your state leaders to commit to Black college-student success.

Capital Update

House Education Committee will meet this morning, March 19 at 9:00 a.m. for a discussion of teacher evaluations. Presenters include Attorney Gary Collins, The Education Trust-Midwest and L’Anse Creuse Public Schools. Tune at 9:0 a.m. to hear our take on educator evaluations in Michigan and how we can improve by building these systems up rather than recent proposals to tear them down and minimize the use of data.

Senate Education and Career Readiness Committee will meet today, March 19, at noon, in Room 1300 of the Binsfeld Office Building. AgendaSenate Bills 122 and 202 (Horn – R), which would weaken educator evaluations by minimizing the use of data.

House School Aid and Department of Education Appropriations Subcommittee will meet on Wednesday, March 20 at noon in room 352 of the State Capitol Building. Agenda: Overview of the FY 2019-20 Executive Budget: Recommendation for the Michigan Department of Education and presentations on literacy in Michigan.

House Higher Education and Community Colleges Appropriations Subcommittee will meet Thursday, March 21 at 9:00 a.m. in room 519 of the House Office Building. Agenda: Presentations by the Michigan Association of State Universities (MASU) and the Michigan Community College Association (MCCA).

Senate Universities and Community Colleges Appropriations Subcommittee will meet Thursday, March 21 at 3:00 p.m. in the Harry T. Gast Appropriations Room in the State Capitol Building. Agenda: Presentations by the Michigan Independent Colleges and Universities and the Michigan Association of State Universities.

Tweet of the Week

@EdTrust: #ICYMI Our own @JohnBKing sat with @craigmelvin to discuss the recent #CollegeCheatingScandal & ways in which colleges & universities are inaccessible to students of color & students from low-income families. You can watch the segment here: