Research review [Summer 2002]

Baccalaureates Awarded to African-Americans in the University System of Georgia

All six institutions nationally that award more degrees to black students than Georgia State University are historically black.
A recent article, "The Top 100:
Interpreting the Data," in the June 20, 2002 edition of Black Issues in Higher Education shows seven University System of Georgia institutions to be among those conferring the highest numbers of baccalaureate degrees on AfricanAmerican students nationally. Black Issues used preliminary 2000-2001 IPEDS Completions Survey data from the National Center for Education Statistics. The following are the major points from the article and additional analysis of the data:
In FY 2001, Georgia State University awarded 743 baccalaureate degrees to AfricanAmericans, the seventh largest number awarded to blacks among all U.S. colleges and universities. All six institutions nationally that award more degrees to black students than Georgia State University are historically black. Four other USG institutions joined Georgia State in the nation's top 100: Georgia Southern University ranked 28 th, Albany State University ranked 71st, University of Georgia was 97th, and Fort Valley State University was 99th.

Those five USG institutions each awarded more baccalaureates to African-American students than out-of-state and out-of-region institutions such as University of Illinois-Chicago, California State University-Long Beach, University of Cincinnati-Main Campus, and University of Pittsburgh.
The Black Issues article also separated institutions into two categories: traditionally white institutions or "TWIs," and historically black colleges and universities or "HBCUs." In that context, Georgia State University awarded the highest number of bachelor's degrees to black students of any TWI in the country. In addition, Georgia Southern University was 14th, University of Georgia 63rd, and Valdosta State University 80th in the TWI group.
Eleven of the 16 SREB (Southern Regional Education Board) states had public colleges or universities included in the 109institution TWI category. In total, those institutions awarded 14,009 bachelors degrees to AfricanAmericans in FY 2001. University System of Georgia TWIs on the list accounted for 1,723 degrees or 12.3 percent of that total, placing Georgia third in the SREB public higher education sector in bachelor's degrees conferred to black recipients by TWIs.

Thirteen SREB states were represented among the 83 HBCUs identified by Black Issues as awarding the most bachelor's degrees to African-Americans in FY 2001, and the public HBCUs in those states awarded 15,069 degrees. Georgia's public HBCUs, Albany State, Fort Valley State and Savannah State Universities, were all in the top half of that list, awarding 809 degrees (5.4 percent) and placing Georgia 10th among the 13 states included in this category.
Within the University System of Georgia, 22 percent of all bachelor's degrees awarded to African-Americans in FY 2001 were conferred by HBCUs. The USG's 18 traditionally white colleges and universities awarded the remaining 78 percent or 2,916 degrees collectively.
Joseph J. Szutz Assistant Vice Chancellor
for Planning
Summer 2002