According to the U.S. Department of Education, there is a widening chasm between Black and white college students, with the implication being that Black students are obtaining bachelor’s degrees at half the rate of white students.

The study used data collected from students entering college in 2003. For students who enrolled in postsecondary education that year, only 16.7 percent of Black students earned a bachelor’s degree by 2009 — that’s compared to 36.4 percent of white students who entered college at the same time.

About eight percent of Black students earned a two-year associate’s degree by 2009, compared to 10 percent of white students at the same time, the study reports.

The Journal for Blacks in Higher Education writes:

If we look only at students who entered public, four-year institutions in 2003, 62.0 percent of whites went on to earn a bachelor’s degree by 2009. For Backs, 46.7 percent of all students who entered four-year institutions in 2003 were awarded a bachelor’s degree by 2009.

At private, four-year institutions, 70.3 percent of whites who matriculated in 2003 went on to earn a bachelor’s degree by 2009. For Blacks at four-year private colleges and universities, 45.6 percent of all students who entered in 2003 earned a bachelor’s degree by 2009.