Friday, March 29, 2024

Colleges focusing on improving minority student graduation rates

college-graduationIn 15 years, California expects to be about 1.1 million college graduates short of the number needed to fill jobs that require at least a bachelor’s degree.

Already, the nation’s most populous state is a minority-majority state — one in which racial and ethnic minorities comprise more than half the population. And blacks, Hispanics and American Indians not only are less likely to go to college, but their graduation rates are also lower than that of whites.

California is a bellwether for a nation that is becoming more diverse, whose economy is demanding a better educated workforce, and whose state colleges and universities are increasingly pressured to deliver it — which means making sure minorities, especially African-Americans, finish school and get degrees.

College graduation rates among African-American students have lagged behind the national average for a variety of reasons, including poor preparation at the K-12 level, family issues, feeling alienated at school, and financial pressure from rising tuition costs. (Latino and American Indian students also lag, but not as much.)

In response, major state universities — such as the University of Maryland, the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, as well as the University of California system — have been making concerted efforts to attract and retain disadvantaged students by using programs tailored to boost academic performance and improve assimilation to college life. And they are showing some results.

Among 255 four-year state colleges and universities with a large enrollment of minority students, combined graduation rates for African-American, Hispanic and American Indian students rose from 43.8 percent to just over 50 percent from 2003 to 2013, according to the Education Trust.

Many educators, such as Kumea Shorter-Gooden, chief diversity officer at the University of Maryland, say that because public universities receive state funding, they have an obligation to educate the citizenry. Admitting students and not helping them succeed doesn’t make financial sense, she said.

Other educators, such as Angela Dillard, associate dean for undergraduate education at the University of Michigan, agree.

“At the end of the day, it’s just the right thing to do,” Dillard said. “And it’s the smart thing to do for our future workforce.”

Read more here.

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