College enrollment for Black students in Illinois has dropped more than one-third since 2010, according to the Illinois Board of Higher Education. This decline at two- and four-year colleges comes on the heels of rising tuition costs and student debt.
Chicago State University President Zaldwaynaka “Z” Scott is on a mission to reverse the trend. Her regional public institution serves a majority-Black student population on Chicago’s South Side. The university has faced limited state funding and enrollment drops — and in the spring, a strike by faculty over working conditions.
