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Seven PA Universities Have High Racial Graduation Gaps
Several universities in Pennsylvania have a large gap between white and black graduation rates, according to a recent report from Education Trust.
Shippensburg University, with a 30.3% difference between white and black graduation rates, has the third highest gap among public schools in the nation. Western Pennsylvania schools aren’t immune, the study found a 27.4% gap at Robert Morris University, where 31% of black students graduate, compared to 58% of white students, graduate.
Below are all Pennsylvania Universities ranked in the top 25 in either the public or private school list:
| Black Pop. | Black Grad. Rate | White Grad. Rate | Grad. Gap | |
| Shippensburg University | 5.9% | 35.9% | 66.2% | 30.3% |
| Robert Morris University | 7.8% | 31% | 58% | 27.4% |
| Millersville University of PA | 7.0% | 40.1% | 67.1% | 27% |
| Indiana University of PA | 10.8% | 26% | 52% | 26.2% |
| Lehigh University | 3.2% | 64.5% | 86.3% | 21.8% |
| Widener University | 11.7% | 37% | 58.7% | 21.7% |
| La Salle University | 12.8% | 55.3% | 75.4% | 20.1% |
In contrast, black students at Villanova have a higher graduation rate than white students, but only 4.2% of the student body is black.
This is a troubling trend, partly the result of schools being more concerned with diversity – or in some cases getting inflated tuition rates – than the ability of their recruits to actually succeed.