The Top 100: Interpreting the Data

Eight years and running. Since 1992, I have provided Black Issues with a set of lists enumerating the colleges and universities that have conferred the highest number of degrees to students of color. The first Top 100 issue examined degree production during the 1988-89 academic year. In this year's issue, we focus on the 1996-97 academic year degree recipients. Although not a "final release," the 1996-97 data are virtually complete for the group of institutions that we include in our analysis: Institutions accredited at the college level by an agency or association recognized by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education, and that operate within the 50 states or the District of Columbia. As in past years, this special report focuses on baccalaureate degrees. A forthcoming issue of Black Issues will focus on graduate and professional degrees.
The institutions appearing in the published lists are ranked according to the total number of degrees awarded to minority students across all disciplines and in specific disciplines. The lists include a breakdown of 1996-97 graduates by gender. Also included are the final degree counts from the 1995-96 official release. The final two columns of the lists present two percentages.
The "percent of graduates" column indicates how the number of the minority category degree recipients compares to all degree recipients at that institution within that discipline. For example, in the listing of baccalaureates conferred to African Americans in Business and Management, the percent indicates the proportion of all Business and Management baccalaureate degree recipients at that institution who were African American. The "average annual percentage change" column shows the percentage increase in the number of degrees awarded in that category averaged over the past two years (that is, between 1994-95 and 1996-97).

Source of Data
The data for this study come from the United States Department of Education. They are collected through the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) program completers survey, which is conducted by the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI). The survey requests data on the number of degrees and other formal awards conferred in academic, vocational, and continuing professional education programs. Institutions report their data according to the Classification of Instructional Program (CIP) codes developed by the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES). CIP codes provide a common set of categories allowing comparisons across all colleges and universities.
A student's racial status is typically determined by a self-reported response from the student during his or her college career. Students are offered a set of categories from which to choose. The number and labels of these categories differ from one institution to another. However, when reporting enrollment or degrees to the federal government, institutions must "map" their categories to the standard federal categories: nonresident alien; Black, non-Hispanic; American Indian or Alaskan Native; Asian or Pacific Islander; Hispanic; White, non-Hispanic; and race/ethnicity unknown. The "minority" categories — Black, non-Hispanic; American Indian or Alaskan Native; Asian or Pacific Islander; and Hispanic — include only U.S. citizens or permanent residents.
Some readers may know that the U.S. Department of Education is in the process of changing the way in which race/ethnicity is reported by institutions. In future years, students will be able to select any combination of racial/ethnic categories. In other words, a student can check off that she is both African American and Asian American, or that she is White and Hispanic. (See Black Issues Nov. 27, 1998) These changes will not be reflected in the available degree completions data for at least four or five years.