At some prominent North Carolina universities — UNC Charlotte and Duke, for instance — the share of Black and Hispanic first-year students rose this year, bucking a trend at other well-known institutions like UNC-Chapel Hill .
Why it matters: A year after the Supreme Court ended race-conscious admissions nationwide, our state’s higher education institutions are navigating how to diversify their student bodies. One way they’re doing this is by focusing on economic diversity.
By the numbers: UNC Charlotte saw its share of Hispanic first-year students rise to 14.9% in 2024, up from 14.4% last year, according to figures from the university. The share of Black students rose to 18.9% in 2024, up from 18.5% in 2023.
- At Duke, 14% of first-year students identified as Hispanic this year, up from 13% last year , according to the school. This year, the share of Black students comprised 13% of the first-year class, up from 12% last year.
At other prestigious universities nationwide, diversity in the first-year class declined a year after SCOTUS’ decision.
- At UNC-Chapel Hill, Black and Hispanic students make up a smaller proportion of the newest class of students compared to previous years, recent data from the school show.
- The Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s incoming class saw a sharp decline in Black, Hispanic and Native American students, the New York Times reported .
Yes, but: It’s hard to suss out sustainable trends from one year of data, experts have said.
- And the number of students at Duke not reporting their race at all rose from 5% to 11% — a significant jump.
Representatives from North Carolina’s other largest universities — NC State and East Carolina — did not yet have data ready to share…