Analysis finds major racial enrollment shifts at U.S. colleges after 2023 ban

An analysis by the nonprofit Class Action finds that the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling banning race-conscious college admissions coincided with declines in Black and Latino freshmen at highly selective U.S. universities and increases at many public flagship and less-selective colleges, based on 2024 federal freshmen enrollment figures released in January.

Class Action’s review of data covering more than 3,000 colleges and universities found that Black freshmen enrollment fell 27 percent and Latino freshmen enrollment fell 10 percent at the nation’s 50 most selective schools. By contrast, underrepresented minority freshmen enrollment rose 8 percent at public flagship universities, and four-year public colleges overall saw Latino freshman enrollment increase 7 percent and Black freshman enrollment increase 4 percent.

The report highlighted specific campus changes: the University of Mississippi saw a 50 percent increase in Black freshman enrollment, Louisiana State University’s Black freshman enrollment rose 30 percent, Black enrollment at Syracuse University grew 17 percent, and Latino enrollment at the University of Miami increased 45 percent.

James S. Murphy, a senior fellow at Class Action, said, “I was stunned when I saw things like the University of Mississippi seeing large gains in enrollment of Black students and the University of Miami seeing a big boost in Latino students.” Officials at several universities did not respond to requests for comment, the report said.

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