For Liberal Arts Colleges, Enrolling Minority Students Still a Challenge

At top-ranked liberal arts colleges, there have been some gains and some setbacks in creating diverse student bodies.

At Amherst College, 15.8 percent of the freshman class in fall 2014 was black, according to a December report from the Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. It had the highest percentage of black freshmen among 24 of the most competitive liberal arts schools. The previous year it also topped the list with 12.2 percent, and the year before that Wesleyan University took the No. 1 spot with 11.3 percent.

But getting into some of these schools may be harder for African-Americans than other applicants. "At 14 of the 23 high-ranking liberals arts colleges for which we have data, the Black acceptance rate was lower than the rate for all students," the report states. Nine schools had an acceptance rate that was higher for black applicants.

In a similar report on leading research universities, which includes Duke University and Brown University, 12 of the 17 top-ranked schools that submitted data had higher acceptance rates for African-American students than for all students.

A number of historically black colleges are liberal arts institutions, such as Spelman College and Dillard University, but none were included as top-ranked schools in the report on liberal arts schools.

It highlights the student demographics of two dozen schools -- such as Wesleyan University and Swarthmore College -- but many more institutions are working to make the liberal arts learning environment multicultural.

[Decide if a historically black college is a good fit.]

The Consortium for Faculty Diversity is one of them. Housed in Pennsylvania at the liberal arts school Gettysburg College, the consortium takes a top-down approach for infusing diversity at college campuses.

It's a network of 43 schools that helps underrepresented scholars, who are doctoral or post-doctoral fellows, grow their careers at liberal arts schools, says Jack Ryan, a coordinator for the consortium.

Fellows in the consortium typically work and study at member institutions.

"All 43 schools try to use the fellowship position as a bridge to full-time appointment," Ryan says.

A fellow's presence on campus can help strengthen a school's relationship with minority students. At Ryan's school, a fellow through the consortium, Zakiya Whatley, is offering support for minorities who are interested in science, technology, engineering or math, he says.

She meets with students who are interested in a career in the sciences and will soon make an update to class offerings at the school.

"She's also designed and will teach a first-year seminar in the fall that is designed for underrepresented STEM students. So that will help us attract more minority students to our campus," Ryan says.

[Understand why public health is becoming a more popular major for minorities.]

Some schools in the consortium partner with organizations that help students of color get into and graduate from college, says Ryan. Bryn Mawr College, for example, is a member of the consortium and also a partner university of the Posse Foundation, a national organization that helps students from diverse backgrounds thrive at college.

Other schools build connections with nonprofits that are closer to home. Gettysburg College has partnered with Philadelphia Futures, which helps children from low-income backgrounds get into and succeed at college, Ryan says. The college also has a relationship with certain high schools in New York City, he says.

At the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges, which includes 28 member schools, drawing minorities to campus is also a top priority, says William Spellman, the council's director.

"I think it's become more important for the member institutions," says Spellman. "There's a sense of civic responsibility to recruit minority students." The average enrollment for first-year African-American students across all schools was 7.6 percent for the 2012-2013 school year, he says. For all minorities, it was 20 percent.

One way schools work to bring these students and others to campus is by keeping tuition relatively low. Among schools in the council, the average tuition and fees for full-time, in-state students during the 2012-2013 school year was $8,624, Spellman says.

[Find colleges that offer STEM support for women and minorities.]

Some schools also have centers on campus that help students celebrate their cultural heritage. Fort Lewis College, a member school in Colorado, for example, has a Native American center.

Just about all of the schools in the council also focus on helping students feel like they are in an environment where faculty are invested in them, Spellman says.

"You'll have faculty members who know you. You're not being taught by graduate students in lecture halls of a hundred to 200 students."

But an increase in minorities across the U.S. between kindergarten and 12th grade may push not just liberal arts colleges but all universities to think more about serving students of color.

By 2027, virtually half of high school graduates will come from communities of color, according to a report released this week called "America's Unmet Promise: The Imperative for Equity in Higher Education" from the Association of American Colleges and Universities.

"All institutions are going to diversify because of the changing in the student population that's coming through K through 12," says Tia Brown McNair, the senior director for student success in the office of diversity, equity and student success at the association.

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Delece Smith-Barrow is an education reporter at U.S. News, covering graduate schools. You can follow her on Twitter or email her at dsmithbarrow@usnews.com.