Black students tend to give colleges and universities more often than their white peers. According to 2009 statistics from the Department of Education EE. UU. (US Department of Education), 67% of white students begin and end a university or four-year college graduate in six years, while only 44% of African American students who start the same program ends . Social isolation, inadequate preparation of high school, and lack of role models and mentoring, are all factors for this lower rate of retention.
Social isolation
Black students who feel as if they were the only person, or one of the few people of his race at his school, may feel a sense of isolation. This isolation or alienation can increase the chances of leaving school. According to the Department of Education EE. UU., Only 20% of African American college students attending a school in which at least half of his fellow students are black. Colleges and universities historically Afro populations try to combat this by providing environments in which African Americans are most at least traditional. In addition, many colleges and universities have student-run clubs, fraternities or multicultural organizations that help African American students to live together.
Inadequate preparation of middle schools
If an African American student comes from a high school that failed to adequately prepare for the rigors of a college education, the student may feel overwhelmed by the pace and workload classes. This could lead to the student choose to fail or drop out. Some colleges and universities attempt to address this by sponsoring a series of academic courses for black students. Program Miramontes Arts and Sciences (The Miramontes Arts and Sciences Program or MASP) at the University of Colorado-Boulder offers an educational program and free summer intensive, five weeks for minority students. This takes place before the first year of the new students and is designed to prepare students academically freshmen.
Lack of role models
Black students may also be discouraged as a result of the lack of role models on campus. If most of your professors or teachers are not like them and cannot relate to their life experiences-and if the only people who look like them in positions of low-wage this can influence the self-esteem of students and their belief in their ability to graduate.
Lack of mentors
The lack of mentors for college freshmen contributes to the retention of African American students, increasing feelings of social isolation and reinforcing the sense of lacking role models. Colleges and universities that have linkage programs between older and African American youth in mentoring relationships with African American freshmen and sophomores have experienced higher rates of student retention, according to an article in the Journal of African Americans in Higher Education (Journal of Blacks in Higher Education).