Holding on to what they've got - analysis of programs implemented by six institutions to keep college students in school

Black Issues in Higher Education, Feb 20, 1997 by Nina Reyes

consultant and the vice provost

and dean of undergraduate

studies at North Carolina State

University.

To get a sense of what

kinds of programs are in place, Black Issues

In Education looks at six institutions and

their efforts to make their students successful.

NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY



Graduation Rates                  All Students   Student-Athletes



1989-90 Graduation Rate

 (within six years)                   67%             68%

Four-year Graduation Average          65%             58%



                            Six-year            Four-year

                        Graduation Rate      Graduation Rate

                           #       %            #       %



American Indian/AN          11     55             39    49

Asian/PI                   102     71            350    67

Black                      405     49          1,572    46

Hispanic                    27     48             89    54

White                    2,792     70         11,200    68

Other                       17     71             29    72

Total                    3,354     67         13,279    65

It also provides academic and

personal counseling, mentoring,

and tutoring.

The program also offers a

credit-bearing "bridge" program,

which was begun in 1975 to give

students intensive help with skills

in mathematics and English. The

bridge program provides additional

courses as well as a broad

orientation to university life and

assistance with some of the

personal skills--such as learning to

confront challenges--that are

essential for success in college.

Between fifty and seventy-five

mostly Black and Latino students

go through the seven-week,

pre-college program.

The students designated for

comprehensive studies, who typically number

about 550 in each entering freshman class, are

also predominantly Black and Latino--and

are referred to the program as part of the

admissions process. However, comprehensive

studies are open to all students who elect to

affiliate themselves with the program.

Despite the broad program of support,

however, CSP students on average do not

graduate at the same rate as their peers who

are not in the program. The overall six-year

graduation rate for the University of

Michigan is 85 percent. For students in CSP,

it is 75 percent.

William Collins, CSP's director, said that

in many cases, the lack of preparation that

students bring with them to the university is

so serious that while CSP can bridge a large

part of the gap, it can't close it entirely. But

according to Collins, that is not the only

factor at work regarding the graduation rate of

the program's students.

"We find, for example, that about 15

percent of CSP students leave the university

in good standing--with good GPAs and good

progress toward graduation," he said. "We

don't know the exact reasons for that, but we

think cost probably has a lot to do with it."

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN



Graduation Rates                  All Students   Student-Athletes



1989-90 Graduation Rate

 (within six years)                   85%             80%

Four-year Graduation Average          85%             77%



                            Six-year            Four-year

                        Graduation Rate      Graduation Rate

                           #       %            #       %



American Indian/AN          23     87             88    72

Asian/PI                   465     86          1,566    87

Black                      256     70          1,078    67

Hispanic                   164     80            566    75

White                    3,674     86         15,187    87

Other                      142     86            183    84

Total                    4,724     85         18,668    85