More than 10,000 of the 16,000 black students enrolled in one of Illinois’ 11, state-subsidized four-year universities will flunk out of school.
That’s according to an analysis of U.S. Department of Education (DOE) data by Prairie State Wire.
Over the six-year period from 2011-17, only 37.5 percent of black students enrolled in Illinois’ four-year schools managed to successfully complete four years of coursework, the DOE reports.
More than 6 in 10– 62.5 percent– flunked out. That equates to 10,029 students, at today’s enrollment levels.
As of August 2017, 16,181 black students were enrolled in an Illinois state-subsidized university.
Three schools — the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (78 percent graduation rate), the University of Illinois at Springfield (59 percent) and Illinois State University (52 percent) — graduated more black students than they failed.
Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU) in Chicago (8 percent graduation rate) and Chicago State University (11 percent) failed 9 of 10 black students who enrolled.
State taxpayers gave $34 million to NEIU and $35 million to Chicago State last year, to subsidize operating expenses. They report 7,113 and 2,029 students enrolled, respectively.
Northern Illinois University in DeKalb (2,153 enrolled), University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign (2,037) and Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (1,758) have the largest black student populations of the 11 schools.
Chicago State University (75 percent black), Western Illinois University in Macomb (22 percent) and Eastern Illinois University in Charleston (18 percent) have the highest percentage of black students.
An Illinois Department of Higher Education study released last month said black student enrollment at Illinois public universities fell 26 percent between 2013 and 2017. The analysis also includes community colleges, which typically enroll more than twice as many black students as do the state’s four-year schools.
According to the Illinois State Board of Education, 75 percent of black students enrolled in a public K-12 school graduated in 2018, versus a state average of 85 percent for all students.
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Black Student Failure Rate at Illinois’ 4-Year Universities
| University | # Black Students Enrolled | # Black Students Failing Out | Black Student Failure Rate |
| Northern Illinois University | 2,153 | 1,529 | 71% |
| Chicago State University | 1,522 | 1,354 | 89% |
| Southern Illlnois University- Carbondale | 1,758 | 1,318 | 75% |
| Southern Illlnois University- Edwardsville | 1,596 | 1,165 | 73% |
| Western Illinois University | 1,672 | 1,070 | 64% |
| University of Illinois at Chicago | 1,556 | 871 | 56% |
| Illinois State University | 1,650 | 792 | 48% |
| Northeastern Illinois University | 854 | 785 | 92% |
| Eastern Illinois University | 1,002 | 541 | 54% |
| University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | 2,037 | 448 | 22% |
| University of Illinois at Springfield | 381 | 156 | 41% |
| TOTAL | 16,181 | 10,029 | 62% |
Source: U.S. Department of Education
