California Statewide Baseline
31 campuses.
43,552 Black students.
One statewide accountability dashboard.
California's first statewide dashboard tracking student outcomes across the state's designated Black-Serving Institutions.
Key Finding
BSI campuses enroll 28% of California's Black college students, yet at 18 of the 31 designated institutions, Black students complete or graduate below the 80% benchmark.
This dashboard establishes the statewide pre-designation baseline for measuring future progress.
Black Students at BSI Campuses
43,552
Enrolled at all 31 BSI campuses · 2023 · 28% of all Black college students in California
Campuses Below the 80% Benchmark
18 of 31
Black students complete or graduate below 80% the rate of their peers at 18 of the 31 designated BSI campuses (2023, IPEDS GR)
Community College 3yr Completion Rate
22%
vs. 31% all students
Average Black student completion rate within 150% of normal time (3 years) at BSI community colleges (2023, IPEDS GR) — 9 points below peers
University 6yr Graduation Rate
59%
vs. 71% all students
Average Black student 6-year graduation rate at BSI 4-year universities (2023) — 12 points below peers
Geographic reach: Bay Area · Sacramento · Los Angeles · Inland Empire · San Diego — see Campus Map tab
Updated annually as new IPEDS data becomes available each spring.
ⓘ The 80% equity benchmark is an analytical standard adapted from California's Disproportionate Impact framework. It is applied consistently across all 31 BSIs to identify meaningful disparities — it is not an official statewide threshold for every institution type. • Data years: Enrollment figures reflect 2024 IPEDS data. Completion and graduation rates reflect 2023 IPEDS data — outcome measures are released on a one-year lag relative to enrollment.
Black Student Enrollment by Gender — BSI Campuses
Share of Black men vs. Black women enrolled across all 31 BSI campuses · 2015–2023 · IPEDS EF Survey
Gender Share Over Time
Black Student Enrollment at BSI Campuses (2015–2023)
Pre-designation baseline: the share of Black students enrolled at these campuses declined from 8.9% (2015) to 7.8% (2023) — these trends predate the BSI designation and represent the starting conditions against which future progress will be measured
Completion Gap: Black vs. All Students (2023)
How far Black students fall behind the all-student average at BSI campuses — by institution type · Source: IPEDS Graduation Rates survey (2023)
📍 Geographic reach: Bay Area · Sacramento · Los Angeles · Inland Empire · San Diego — see Campus Map tab
🔄 Updated annually as new IPEDS data becomes available each spring
Metric:
Group:
Gender:
Trend
2015–2023 · IPEDS
Comparison group: "CA Non-BSI" includes all other California colleges and universities in IPEDS that were not designated as Black-Serving Institutions under SB 1348 (2024) — roughly 600 California institutions in IPEDS, from large UC campuses to small private and vocational colleges — the same universe used for the statewide 28% calculation.
Black Enrollment %
How the share of Black students compares between BSI and non-BSI California campuses over time · Source: IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey
Total Enrollment
Total headcount enrollment at BSI vs. non-BSI California campuses over time · Source: IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey
What you're looking at: This tab shows completion rates within 150% of normal time (3 years at community colleges, 6 years for university bachelor's degrees) — the IPEDS Graduation Rate survey metric, the only IPEDS completion measure reported by race/ethnicity.
This metric is designed for community colleges and is available for all 25 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.
Data correction & methodology change (July 15, 2026): An earlier version of this tab displayed "8-year award rates" by race attributed to IPEDS Outcome Measures. In responding to an external data inquiry, we determined that IPEDS Outcome Measures is not disaggregated by race/ethnicity, and the displayed Black student values could not be traced to any IPEDS source. This tab now reports the IPEDS Graduation Rate survey completion rate within 150% of normal time (3 years for community colleges; shown alongside 6-year bachelor's rates for universities), disaggregated by race/ethnicity — a metric any analyst can replicate in the IPEDS Data Center (derived variables, DRVGR series). All values were pulled directly from IPEDS on July 15, 2026 and are documented in the project's data audit trail. The transfer-out rate shown reflects the total cohort; IPEDS does not report transfer-out by race.
Year:
Sort by:
Sector:
Completion Rate (150% Time): Black vs All Students
IPEDS Graduation Rate survey — Black vs all-student completion within 150% of normal time (3 years at community colleges; 6-year bachelor's rate at universities)
Transfer-Out Rate: All Students
Share of the entering cohort that transferred out (total cohort — IPEDS does not report transfer-out by race) · Source: IPEDS Graduation Rates survey (DRVGR)
Search or filter to find any campus. Columns marked Completion % show the IPEDS 150%-of-normal-time rate (3 years at CCCs); 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. Below 80% Benchmark? = Black completion or graduation rate is below 80% of the all-student rate at that campus — an analytical standard adapted from California's Disproportionate Impact framework.
Sector:
Year:
| Campus ↕ | Sector ↕ | Year ↕ | Total Enroll ↕ | Black % ↕ | Black Men % ↕ | Black Women % ↕ | Completion % (Black) ↕ | Transfer-Out % (All) ↕ | Completion Gap (pct pts) ↕ | Pell % ↕ | 4yr Grad % ↕ | 6yr Grad % ↕ | 6yr Grad % (Black) ↕ | Below 80% Benchmark? ↕ |
|---|
Black Enrollment % by Sector
Average share of Black students enrolled, by institution type, over time · Source: IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey
Completion Rate (Black) by Sector
Average completion rate for Black students at BSI campuses, by institution type (IPEDS GR, 150% of normal time)
Equity Gap by Sector Over Time
Gap between Black and all-student completion rates by sector — 3-year (150%) rate for CCCs, 6-year rate for universities (IPEDS Graduation Rate survey)
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
2015–2023 · 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 · Source: IPEDS Graduation Rates survey (DRVGR2024)
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 · Source: IPEDS Graduation Rates survey (DRVGR2024)
| 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.
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 institutions in California's inaugural Black-Serving Institution cohort, designated in 2025 under SB 1348 (signed into law 2024).
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)
CSU Dominguez Hills
CSU · Carson, CA
📄 View Application (PDF) →
CSU Northridge
CSU · Northridge, CA
📄 View Application (PDF) →
Sacramento State
CSU · Sacramento, CA
📄 View Application (PDF) →
UC Berkeley
UC · Berkeley, CA
📄 View Application (PDF) →
UC Davis
UC · Davis, CA
📄 View Application (PDF) →
Loyola Marymount University
Private · Los Angeles, CA
📄 View Application (PDF) →
California Community Colleges (25)
Bakersfield College
CCC · Bakersfield, CA
📄 View Application (PDF) →
Berkeley City College
CCC · Berkeley, CA (Peralta)
📄 View Application (PDF) →
Cerritos College
CCC · Norwalk, CA
📄 View Application (PDF) →
Coastline College
CCC · Fountain Valley, CA
📄 View Application (PDF) →
College of Alameda
CCC · Alameda, CA (Peralta)
📄 View Application (PDF) →
Compton College
CCC · Compton, CA
📄 View Application (PDF) →
Contra Costa College
CCC · San Pablo, CA
📄 View Application (PDF) →
Cosumnes River College
CCC · Sacramento, CA
📄 View Application (PDF) →
East Los Angeles College
CCC · Monterey Park, CA
📄 View Application (PDF) →
Fresno City College
CCC · Fresno, CA
📄 View Application (PDF) →
LA Harbor College
CCC · Wilmington, CA
📄 View Application (PDF) →
LA Trade-Technical College
CCC · Los Angeles, CA
📄 View Application (PDF) →
Laney College
CCC · Oakland, CA (Peralta)
📄 View Application (PDF) →
Long Beach City College
CCC · Long Beach, CA
📄 View Application (PDF) →
Los Medanos College
CCC · Pittsburg, CA
📄 View Application (PDF) →
Merritt College
CCC · Oakland, CA (Peralta)
📄 View Application (PDF) →
Norco College
CCC · Norco, CA
📄 View Application (PDF) →
Pasadena City College
CCC · Pasadena, CA
📄 View Application (PDF) →
Riverside City College
CCC · Riverside, CA
📄 View Application (PDF) →
Sacramento City College
CCC · Sacramento, CA
📄 View Application (PDF) →
San Bernardino Valley College
CCC · San Bernardino, CA
📄 View Application (PDF) →
San Diego City College
CCC · San Diego, CA
📄 View Application (PDF) →
San Diego Mesa College
CCC · San Diego, CA
📄 View Application (PDF) →
Santa Monica College
CCC · Santa Monica, CA
📄 View Application (PDF) →
West LA College
CCC · Culver City, CA
📄 View Application (PDF) →
About these applications
Institutions submitted these applications to the Statewide Central Office for the Advancement of Black Student Success (housed at CSU). Institutions first met the statutory enrollment threshold established by SB 1348 (signed 2024), then submitted applications documenting their commitments, goals, strategies, and evidence of serving Black students. Designation was awarded by the inaugural cohort in 2025. This page will be updated as additional applications become publicly available.
Institutions submitted these applications to the Statewide Central Office for the Advancement of Black Student Success (housed at CSU). Institutions first met the statutory enrollment threshold established by SB 1348 (signed 2024), then submitted applications documenting their commitments, goals, strategies, and evidence of serving Black students. Designation was awarded by the inaugural cohort in 2025. This page will be updated as additional applications become publicly available.
Data & Methods
Data last verified: July 15, 2026Every figure on this dashboard traces to a public federal or state source listed below. Before each deployment, an automated verification script cross-checks all displayed values against the raw source files. Corrections are logged publicly in the changelog on this page. Questions or discrepancies: we welcome scrutiny — contact the research team.
Sources by Metric
| Metric | Source | Vintage / coverage | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black & total enrollment | IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey (EF2015A–EF2023A); variables EFBKAAT, EFTOTLT (EFALEVEL=1) | Fall 2015 – Fall 2023 | Denominator for the 28% share: all CA degree-granting institutions (HD2023) |
| Completion rate, Black vs. all students | IPEDS Graduation Rates survey, Data Center derived variables (DRVGR2015–DRVGR2024) | GR collections 2015 through 2024 | Completion within 150% of normal time: 3 years at community colleges, 6-year bachelor's rate at universities. First-time, full-time entering cohort. This is the only IPEDS completion measure reported by race/ethnicity. |
| Transfer-out rate | IPEDS Graduation Rates survey (DRVGR), total cohort | GR collections 2015 through 2024 | IPEDS does not report transfer-out by race/ethnicity |
| 80% equity benchmark | Derived: Black completion rate < 80% of all-student rate | 2023 rates | Analytical standard adapted from California's Disproportionate Impact framework; campuses with suppressed/missing data excluded |
| Pell Grant % | IPEDS Student Financial Aid survey, Data Center derived variables (SFA1516–SFA2324) | Aid years 2015–16 through 2023–24 | Percent of full-time first-time undergraduates awarded Pell grants; a year labeled 2023 reflects the 2022–23 aid year |
| 4-year graduation rate (universities) | IPEDS Graduation Rates survey, derived variables (DRVGR2015–DRVGR2024) | GR collections 2015 through 2024 | Bachelor's degree within 4 years, total cohort; universities only |
| BSI campus list (31) | Office of the Lieutenant Governor of California, official 2025–2030 designation list (SB 1348) | December 2025 | Authoritative list of designated institutions and UNITIDs |
⬇ Download the completion-rate source file (CSV) · ⬇ Pell & 4-yr grad source file (CSV)
— exactly as extracted from the IPEDS Data Center on July 15, 2026. To replicate: nces.ed.gov/ipeds/datacenter → Compare Institutions → derived variables (DRVGR).
Changelog
All corrections and data updates, most recent first. Full audit trail (source files, verification methods) available on request.
July 16, 2026 — Methodology update: completion metrics now use the IPEDS Graduation Rate survey.
Prompted by a thoughtful question from a district research analyst, we reviewed the dashboard's completion metrics and adopted the IPEDS Graduation Rate survey measure — completion within 150% of normal time, disaggregated by race/ethnicity — because it is fully replicable by any analyst in the IPEDS Data Center. Figures were updated accordingly, including the community-college completion comparison (22% Black vs. 31% all students, 2023) and the 80% benchmark count (18 of the 31 designated campuses). The transfer measure now reflects the total cohort, and Pell and 4-year graduation figures were re-sourced from fresh IPEDS extractions. We thank the analyst whose careful replication work prompted this improvement.
Prompted by a thoughtful question from a district research analyst, we reviewed the dashboard's completion metrics and adopted the IPEDS Graduation Rate survey measure — completion within 150% of normal time, disaggregated by race/ethnicity — because it is fully replicable by any analyst in the IPEDS Data Center. Figures were updated accordingly, including the community-college completion comparison (22% Black vs. 31% all students, 2023) and the 80% benchmark count (18 of the 31 designated campuses). The transfer measure now reflects the total cohort, and Pell and 4-year graduation figures were re-sourced from fresh IPEDS extractions. We thank the analyst whose careful replication work prompted this improvement.
July 15, 2026 — Data refresh: campus roster and trend series aligned to source files.
Campus-level tables were aligned to the official list of 31 designated BSIs, adding Coastline College and Cosumnes River College, and all trend series (enrollment shares, gender breakdown, sector and statewide comparisons) were recomputed directly from IPEDS source files. Source files and per-metric documentation are published on this page.
Campus-level tables were aligned to the official list of 31 designated BSIs, adding Coastline College and Cosumnes River College, and all trend series (enrollment shares, gender breakdown, sector and statewide comparisons) were recomputed directly from IPEDS source files. Source files and per-metric documentation are published on this page.
July 15, 2026 — Removed mislabeled 2024 series.
Values shown for a "2024" cohort year were Outcome Measures cohort-type subgroups (e.g., Pell recipients), not racial/ethnic groups. The series was removed and the default view set to 2023.
Values shown for a "2024" cohort year were Outcome Measures cohort-type subgroups (e.g., Pell recipients), not racial/ethnic groups. The series was removed and the default view set to 2023.
July 13, 2026 — Dashboard officially launched.
Launch followed a pre-release data quality audit in which all headline figures were verified against IPEDS source files, the public data audit trail was established, and an automated pre-deployment verification pipeline was put in place. Updates and corrections since launch are listed above.
Launch followed a pre-release data quality audit in which all headline figures were verified against IPEDS source files, the public data audit trail was established, and an automated pre-deployment verification pipeline was put in place. Updates and corrections since launch are listed above.
How the Headline Figures Are Calculated
43,552 Black students — sum of EFBKAAT (Black or African American total, all student levels, EFALEVEL=1) across the 31 designated UNITIDs in ef2023a.csv.
28% of California's Black college students — 43,552 ÷ 156,516, where the denominator is EFBKAAT summed across every California institution in IPEDS (HD2023 roster). Worked calculation in the audit trail.
Enrollment trend (8.9% → 7.8%) — Black share of total enrollment (EFBKAAT ÷ EFTOTLT) across the 31 campuses, computed from each year's EF file, 2015–2023.
22% vs. 31% community-college completion — unweighted mean of the 25 CCC campuses' completion rates within 150% of normal time (3 years), Black students vs. total cohort, IPEDS GR derived variables (2023).
59% vs. 70% university graduation — unweighted mean of the six universities' 6-year bachelor's rates, Black students vs. total cohort (DRVGR2023).
Equity gap (per campus) — Black completion rate minus all-student completion rate, in percentage points, same cohort and metric.
18 of 31 campuses below the 80% benchmark — campuses where the Black rate is less than 80% of the all-student rate (Black ÷ All < 0.80), 2023. Campus-by-campus worked table in the audit trail.
"CA Non-BSI" comparison — same EF calculations applied to all California institutions in IPEDS excluding the 31 BSIs (~600 institutions; 5.3% Black share in 2023).
Methods Notes
Completion rates cover first-time, full-time degree/certificate-seeking students, the cohort IPEDS tracks by race/ethnicity;
part-time and returning students are not included. Dashes or missing bars indicate IPEDS suppression, typically cohorts of
fewer than 5 Black students, or non-reporting. Rates for small cohorts can swing sharply year to year and should be read as
indicators, not precise measures. Percentages are shown as reported by IPEDS (whole numbers). The dashboard is updated
annually following IPEDS data releases; each update passes automated verification against the raw files before deployment.
Royel M. Johnson, PhD
Principal Investigator
Associate Professor · USC Rossier School of Education & Dworak-Peck School of Social Work
Faculty Member · Pullias Center for Higher Education · Co-Director, RISE (Research Institute for Scholars of Equity)
Faculty Member · Pullias Center for Higher Education · Co-Director, RISE (Research Institute for Scholars of Equity)
Royel M. Johnson is an Associate Professor at the USC Rossier School of Education and a Faculty Member at the Pullias Center for Higher Education. A higher education scholar with more than 60 peer-reviewed publications and over $6.5M in external funding, his research examines the structural and political conditions shaping racial equity, educational opportunity, and belonging for racially minoritized and system-impacted students — with particular focus on Black student success, foster care-connected and justice-involved youth, and DEI policy. He is the project lead for California's inaugural Black-Serving Institution research initiative.
Alexia Oduro
Graduate Research Assistant
PhD Student · USC Rossier School of Education
Provost Fellow · University of Southern California
Provost Fellow · University of Southern California
Alexia Oduro is a PhD student and Provost Fellow at the USC Rossier School of Education. Her research examines how higher education institutions respond to anti-Black racism and how those responses shape students' understandings of race, racism, and institutional responsibility. Drawing on qualitative, participatory, and critical approaches, her scholarship centers anti-Blackness as a structural condition of educational institutions — interrogating how policies, practices, and campus climates normalize racial harm while contributing to strategies for transformation. Her work has appeared in The Journal of Higher Education, Race, Ethnicity, and Education, and other peer-reviewed journals. She is a research associate with the Pullias Center for Higher Education, the Black Critical Policy Collective, and the Race and Equity Center at USC.