Racial Segregation in California Higher Education: Examining Trends Between and Within Sectors

Authors: Connie Yun Kang, Rachel Baker, Sabrina Solanki, Katherine Hanna, Shelia Malone, Valerie Acevedo
Presented at 2017 AERA 

Abstract: ​Racial segregation has been well documented in the American K-12 schools and continues to persist despite continued efforts to promote racial integration. However, much less is known about racial segregation trends in higher education, particularly within specific sectors (broad-access four-year colleges, for example). Comparing racial segregation by race within and across California’s three public sectors of higher education (California Community Colleges, California State Universities, and University of California campuses), we find that racial segregation in California’s public higher education has remained constant over the last 25 years, and overall segregation is mostly explained by segregation within sectors. We also find that students in community colleges and Black students experience the highest levels of segregation.