BU reports "concerning" drop in Black student enrollment

BOSTON - Boston University is forming a task force after the school's president says Black enrollment dropped to "concerning and disappointing levels" for the class of 2028.

The university said on its website Wednesday that the percentage of enrolled undergraduate Black students has dropped from 9% to 3% in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that ended the use of affirmative action in college admissions.

"We have another terrific incoming class. I am pleased by the number of Pell Grant-eligible and first-generation students," B.U. president Melissa Gilliam said. "However, we will set up a task force to ensure we are implementing the full array of strategies to maintain the excellent and diverse classes we have attained in the past decade."

Boston University said the number of Black students who applied to the school was nearly identical to the year before. But this time, admissions officers were not allowed to know the race of the applicant as a result of the Supreme Court decision.

"We believe in having a diverse classroom"

"We are very disappointed by that result," associate provost for enrollment Christine McGuire said "We care deeply about diversity in every sense. We believe in having a diverse classroom filled with students from a diversity of backgrounds and lived experiences."

Gilliam said B.U. is looking at improving summer outreach programs to attract more diverse applicants, and improving financial aid.

Colleges in Massachusetts see impact of affirmative action ruling

Harvard University, which was at the center of the Supreme Court case over whether colleges can use race as a factor in admissions, also announced recently that Black enrollment had dropped following the ruling, as did MIT .

One school that has gone against the trend is UMass Amherst. The state school said its incoming class is the "most diverse in the university's history.