The University is leading the pack of public institutes of higher education in graduation rates of African-American students for the 14th consecutive year, according to a recent article published in the Journal of Blacks in Higher Education.
Maurice Apprey, dean of the Office of African-American Affairs, said the commitments of administration, faculty and students have contributed to the consistently high graduation rate.
The Office of African-American Affairs aims to translate this aggregate effort into programs that bring success for students, Apprey said. In addition to the Luther P. Jackson Black Cultural Center's leadership and cultural efforts designed to connect with black students, he said, such programs include faculty mentoring services and peer advising programs.
Fostering the growth of these programs, Apprey said, has contributed to the University's 87-percent graduation rate for African-American students and, as a result, the University is first among public institutions and 17th among all colleges and universities nationwide.
The study stated that the University was "the leader by far" in successfully graduating black students among flagship public universities. The next highest public institutions are the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and the University of California-Berkeley, both of which had a graduation rate of 73 percent, according to the study.
Although Apprey said he was pleased with the high graduation rate, he said the University should not become complacent.
"We are taking the graduation rate to be the floor rather than the ceiling," Apprey said, adding that he hopes for continued, furthered success in the future. According to the study, the University's high graduation rate has not increased since 1998.
Using NCAA data, which includes both students and student-athletes at colleges and universities, the study also found a national trend that African-American female students graduated at a higher rate than African-American male students, a statistic that holds true at the University. According to institutional assessment data released by the University for the 2001 entering class, 95 percent of African-American female students graduated within six years, whereas only 80.6 percent of male African-American students did so.
"It's raised some concerns about whether we need to find some ways to make sure that males graduate at the same rate as their female counterparts," said William Harvey, vice president and chief officer for diversity and equity.
While Apprey said there is not yet a specific plan in place to raise the graduation rates of African-American males at the University, he also said motivational -- rather than programmatic -- activities should be planned to combat the problem.
Apprey also emphasized that he is currently focused on the "specific outcomes" of African-American students at the University. He said these outcomes, which include higher grade point averages and a greater percentage of students attending graduate and professional school, give students more career options.
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