California BSI Dashboard — Black-Serving Institution Designation Project

Are California's Black-Serving Institutions actually serving Black students?

California SB 1348 (2025) designated 31 colleges as Black-Serving Institutions (BSIs) based on Black enrollment levels. Because the designation only went into effect in 2025, enrollment data runs through 2024; outcome data through 2024 — this dashboard establishes the baseline conditions that existed before BSI status was formally recognized. Any policy effects from the designation will not be visible in the data for several years.

Black Students at BSI Campuses

45,621

Enrolled across all 31 BSI campuses in 2024 — 35% of all Black college students in California

Campuses with a Significant Equity Gap

29 of 31

Black students graduate or complete at less than 80% the rate of all students — California's equity threshold

Community College 8yr Completion Gap

21% vs. 41% all students

Avg Black student 8-year completion rate at BSI community colleges (2023) — 20 points behind all students · For context, the national avg for Black students at CCCs is ~26% (NSCRC, 2023)

University 6yr Graduation Gap

59% vs. 71% all students

Avg Black student 6-year graduation rate at BSI 4-year universities (2023) — 12 points behind all students

Key finding: BSI campuses enroll 35% of California's Black college students — but at 29 of 31 campuses, Black students complete or graduate at less than 80% the rate of their peers. Being designated as a Black-Serving Institution does not guarantee equitable outcomes for Black students. Important context: SB 1348 was signed into law in 2025 and the BSI designation is brand new. All data in this dashboard predates the designation — these figures represent the baseline that existed before any BSI-specific funding or policy supports were in place. It may take several years before any effects of the designation show up in outcome data. ⓘ The 80% threshold mirrors California's Disproportionate Impact standard used for community colleges, applied here consistently across all 31 BSIs for comparison. For 4-year universities this is an analytical benchmark, not an official state designation.

Black Student Enrollment by Gender — BSI Campuses

Share of Black men vs. Black women enrolled across all 31 BSI campuses · 2015–2024 · IPEDS EF Survey

Gender Share Over Time

Black Student Enrollment at BSI Campuses (2015–2024)

Despite BSI designation, the share of Black students enrolled has declined from 8.7% in 2015 to 7.6% in 2024

Completion Gap: Black vs. All Students (2024)

How far Black students fall behind the all-student average at BSI campuses — by institution type

Geographic reach: BSI campuses span the entire state — from the Bay Area and Sacramento to Los Angeles, the Inland Empire, and San Diego. See the Campus Map tab for an interactive view of all 31 locations.

How to use this dashboard: Use the tabs above to dig deeper. Enrollment Trends tracks how Black enrollment has changed over time. Student Outcomes compares every BSI campus side by side on completion and transfer rates. Campus Detail lets you look up any individual campus. By Institution Type breaks down patterns across community colleges, CSUs, UCs, and private universities. Graduation Rates shows 4-year and 6-year graduation rate data for the 6 BSI universities.

Metric: Group: Gender:

Trend

2015–2024 · IPEDS

Comparison group: "CA Non-BSI" includes all other California colleges and universities in IPEDS that were not designated as BSIs under SB 1348 (2025) — approximately 274 institutions ranging from large UC campuses to small private colleges.

Black Enrollment %

How the share of Black students compares between BSI and non-BSI California campuses over time

Total Enrollment

Total headcount enrollment at BSI vs. non-BSI California campuses over time

What you're looking at: This tab shows 8-year completion rates — how many students finished a degree, certificate, or transferred within 8 years of starting. This metric is designed for community colleges and is available for all 27 BSI community colleges. 4-year universities use a different measure (6-year graduation rate) — see the Graduation Rates (4yr) tab for university data. Dashes (—) in the table mean data was suppressed because the cohort of Black students was too small (fewer than 5) for reliable reporting.

Year: Sort by: Sector:

8-yr Award Rate: Black vs All Students

Side-by-side comparison — Black student completion rates vs. all-student rates at each BSI campus

Transfer Rate: Black Students

Share of Black students at BSI community colleges who transferred to a 4-year university within 8 years

Equity Gap by Campus (Award Rate: Black minus All)

Each bar shows the gap between Black and all-student completion rates. Bars pointing left (red) mean Black students are behind — the longer the bar, the bigger the gap.

Search or filter to find any campus. Columns marked 8yr Completion % apply to community colleges only; 6yr Grad % columns apply to 4-year universities only. Dashes (—) mean data was not reported — either the metric doesn't apply to that institution type, or the cohort was too small to report reliably. Equity Gap Flagged? = Black completion or graduation rate is below 80% of the all-student rate at that campus.

Sector: Year:

Campus ↕	Sector ↕	Year ↕	Total Enroll ↕	Black % ↕	Black Men % ↕	Black Women % ↕	8yr Completion % (Black) ↕	8yr Transfer % (Black) ↕	Completion Gap (pct pts) ↕	Pell % ↕	4yr Grad % ↕	6yr Grad % ↕	6yr Grad % (Black) ↕	Equity Gap Flagged? ↕

Black Enrollment % by Sector

Average share of Black students enrolled, by institution type, over time

8-yr Award Rate (Black) by Sector

Average 8-year completion rate for Black students at BSI campuses, by institution type

Equity Gap by Sector Over Time

How the gap between Black and all-student completion rates varies by institution type over time

4-Year BSI Campuses only — Graduation rate data from IPEDS GR and GR200 surveys. The 4-year rate measures how many students graduate on time. The 6-year rate is the federal standard — it gives students up to 6 years and counts more completers. Race-specific data (Black students) is available for the 6-year rate only; the 4-year rate is institution-wide.

Campus: Metric:

Graduation Rate Trends

2015–2024 · IPEDS GR & GR200

6yr Graduation Rate: Black vs All Students (2024)

2024 — the gap between bars shows how much Black students trail the all-student graduation rate

On-Time (4yr) vs 6yr Rate — All Students (2024)

2024 — the gap between bars shows how many students needed more than 4 years to graduate

Campus	Year	4yr Rate (All)	6yr Rate (All)	6yr Rate (Black Students)	6yr Gap (Black vs. All, pct pts)

Black Student Concentration & BSI Campus Locations

County shading = share of county residents identifying as Black or African American (ACS 2023) · Dots = BSI campus locations

Black Population Share:

Low → High

4-Year BSI

Community College BSI

4-Year BSI Universities (6)

BSI Community Colleges (25)

Find Peer BSIs

Select your campus to see the three most similar BSIs — matched by sector and Black student enrollment size — with a side-by-side outcomes comparison.

Your campus:

Select a campus above to see peer comparisons.

BSI Designation Applications — Inaugural Cohort (2025)

These are the formal applications submitted by each of the 31 inaugural Black-Serving Institutions under California SB 1348. Applications are public documents submitted to the Statewide Central Office for the Advancement of Black Student Success (CSU). Links open PDFs or institutional pages hosted by each campus. Applications are listed here for informational and transparency purposes.

Universities (UC · CSU · Private)