Private College Enrollment by Race

Nearly one in five undergraduates at Virginia's four-year private colleges did not report their race or ethnicity in 2022, unlike their counterparts in public colleges. See how enrollment has changed for these students, and other races, over the past three decades.

Notes: Prior to 2001 the “Unknown/Unreported" category was not available and schools were instructed to default to the majority category of the institution for unknown students. The high percentage of "Unknown" in this data is driven by Liberty University, which in Fall 2022 accounted for 70% of private 4-year university students with unknown race. Most undergraduates at Liberty are online students, who are typically less likely to respond to the questionnaire. Students are not required to report a race or ethnicity.

Data for undergraduate fall enrollment at Virginia's four-year non-profit private colleges. Students who identified as Hispanic are only counted in the "Hispanic" category, regardless of race. "Multi-Race" data first reported in 2010.

Sources: Virginia's State Council of Higher Education. Table E02: Fall Headcount Enrollment.

Aug. 28, 2023