Dive Brief:

• The University of Florida reported that its African-American student enrollment in 2013 was 28% below its peak in 2009.
• The university’s enrollment numbers for black freshmen in 2013 was even worse — down 50% from 2007, the Gainesville Sun reported.
• The African-American enrollment drop coincided with the “One Florida” initiative, which replaced affirmative action, similar to other Southern states that disbanded affirmative action. 

Dive Insight:

University officials say they’ve been trying to recruit to maintain diversity in the school’s student body without using programs that target race or gender. Among public universities in the Southeastern Conference, Florida’s black student decline was only second worst, with University of South Carolina’s black student enrollment dropping 31% in 2013 from the school’s 2004 peak. Auburn University was third, with a 20% decline in 2013 from its 2007 peak.