By Diane D’Amico, AP/The Press of Atlantic City
ATLANTIC CITY — Minority students now make up the majority of college undergraduate students in New Jersey.
College officials said the increase in Hispanic, black and Asian students reflects both the increasing diversity of the state and increased efforts by colleges to recruit more nonwhite students so that their enrollment reflects the state’s population.
But while overall diversity has grown, the racial and cultural makeup of individual colleges still depends on several factors, including location, cost and competitiveness. Two South Jersey colleges, Richard Stockton and Rowan, are among the least-diverse in the state.
College officials said they do not set quotas for racial diversity, but do take steps to encourage minority students to enroll. College affirmative-action policies are under review by the U.S. Supreme Court.
An analysis by The Press of Atlantic City (http://bit.ly/105u6Un) shows that the shift in minority enrollment reflects the changing diversity of the state’s K-12 public schools. While the population of white and black students has shrunk over the past five years, the number of Hispanic and Asian students has grown.
Statewide, 51 percent of students in the state’s public schools were white in 2011-12, according to state Department of Education data, followed by 16 percent black, 23 percent Hispanic and 9 percent Asian. About 1 percent also identify either as Hawaiian native, American Indian or of two or more races.
Statewide, 49 percent of college students in fall 2011 identified as white, with 14 percent black, 17 percent Hispanic and 8 percent Asian. An additional 8 percent did not identify a race.
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