University of Richmond selected as one of MONEY and ESSENCE's 50 Best Colleges for African-Americans

April 12, 2016

University of Richmond has been selected as one of MONEY and ESSENCE’s 50 Best Colleges for African-Americans.

MONEY collaborated with ESSENCE magazine, analyzing more than 1,500 colleges to single out the ones that offer the best value for African-American students. The publications focused on four factors:

Graduation rates: A school’s graduation rate is one of the best measures of how well it is serving students. That is especially true for African-American students, whose average graduation rate of 40.8 percent within six years lags that of other racial groups. The publications compared college graduation rates specifically for black students. 

Affordability: To evaluate costs, the average net price of a degree from each school, after subtracting its financial aid, was calculated. 

Earnings potential: MONEY used a recent analysis by the Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce to identify colleges that produce relatively high earners, given the background of their student body. 

Representation: Campus diversity is also important. For a school to make the list, African-Americans had to represent at least 5 percent of students. 

The University of Richmond is committed to creating a community in which all students will thrive, regardless of their race, ethnicity, class, religion, sexual orientation or gender.

At Richmond, African-American students account for 7 percent of the fall 2015 traditional degree-seeking undergraduates. The retention rate for African-Americans is 92 percent.

Richmond also is committed to ensuring that students of color take advantage of a wide range of educational opportunities. For example, African-American students (23%) are more likely to reside in living-learning communities than all students (18%).

“We are very proud of the work we have done to enrich and enliven our campus community through greater diversity,” said President Ronald A. Crutcher. “Our selection by MONEY and ESSENCE magazines as one of the best colleges for African-Americans is a strong acknowledgement of our remarkable progress. Our commitment for the future is to be as intentional about harnessing the power of diversity as we have been in building it.”

Additional information is available at www.money.com/colleges/africanamericans.

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