Black Enrollment Takes A Plunge At University of Florida

Florida’s best-known public college, the University of Florida has surprisingly suffered a 50 percent decline in black student attendance in recent years.

The disturbing statistic was recorded by the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System.

Statistics further report that undergraduate enrollment dropped 28.2 percent  from 2007 to 2013.

Other Southeastern Conference schools like South Carolina and Auburn University are also experiencing a decline in black undergraduate enrollment.

South Carolina had the worst decline with 30.6 percent and AU was not far behind a 20.2 percent decline. Ironically, there are more blacks living in the southeastern parts of the United States than anywhere else, so where are all the black students going?

Janine Sikes, Assistant Vice President, Media Relations, and Public Affairs at UF said the statistic is partly flawed because of new racial definitions that actually put some black students in the Hispanic or multi-ethnic category. Sikes said the decline in black enrollment is due to several factors including a lack of need-based student financial aid in the state, changes to Bright Futures, the recession slamming the economy and a general lack of familiarity with higher education among first generation students. The statistic is repeated throughout the State University System of Florida.

Lack of diversity is an issue many schools have throughout the country. Many times you can simply look up the numbers of a particular school and see their student body is made up of mostly Caucasian students.

Seeing a lack of diversity at a university is not what is most surprising. What is most surprising is that a Florida school would be so high up on the list. Florida has a reputation for being one of the most diverse states in America because of its location being very close to the Caribbean and Central America.

No matter what the excuse or explanation, any school in Florida should not have such alarming numbers showing the decrease of black enrollment. The lack of diversity plays into the perception of a lack of inclusivity.

When conversing with a student who’s recently been accepted to UF, the drop wasn’t a shock to him.

“UF is probably going through that because blacks just don’t feel comfortable,” said Macpheden Larose, a 19-year old chemistry major.

Larose thinks blacks don’t see many others like themselves there, so many do not even bother applying.

“Even though not many black people will be there, I’ll adapt,” Larose said. “No matter where I am, there will always be people to make connections with.”

The University of Florida’s recruiting team is already creating strategies to improve the overall diversity of their school. Targeting high schoolers in urban and inner city communities with programs like Upward Bound, focusing on first generation college students and offering an on-campus summer camp. Programs like the Machen Florida Opportunity Scholars Program focuses on students who are the first in their families to go to college.

Despite the declining number of black students, the number of Latino/Hispanic enrollment has stayed up which is a good sign that minorities do, in fact, have a chance to be accepted at this flagship school.