A report issued late last year indicates that a large number of African-American students are entering Ivy League colleges and universities bucking a decades-long trend of Black students dismissing entering the prestigious institutions of higher learning.

The study, “The Progress of Black Student Enrollments at the Nation’s Highest-Ranked Colleges and Universities,” showed the number of first-year African-American students for the 2005-2006 academic year at Ivy League schools such as Princeton, Yale and Columbia, increased by about 10 percent.

The study was conducted by the Journal of Blacks in Higher Education.

Princeton University showed the biggest gain in the number of Black students applying and being accepted. Last year, Black students comprised about 9 percent of the total freshmen class – a near 40 percent increase over the previous year.

In a statement to the media, Bruce Slater, managing editor of the Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, said the gains are significant and vital to the future of higher education in general and for African-American students.

“The competition for top Black students is very keen at these schools,” Slater said. “More Black students are taking advanced courses and applying to top colleges and universities.”

In an interesting twist, the study reports that the University of California-Berkeley showed the most significant drop in African-American students in more than 10 years –nearly 40 percent. Many education experts contend this is due in large part to the state’s abolishment of affirmative action programs.

The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education began conducting the educational survey/studies in 1994. To view the report online, go to JSTOR at www.jstor.org/journals.com