ACCESS IS NOT ENOUGH October 1989 CHAPTER 2 Pre-College Outreach Programs The College Park campus like many other higher education institutions, has increased its black student enrollment by implementing pre-college outreach programs. These programs have been particularly effective in encouraging Blacks to pursue careers in the sciences and engineering. They have also been used to identify academically underprepared students who, with assistance in developing their academic skills and motivation, are capable of successfully pursuing post secondary education. The report Equality and Excellence: The Educational Status of Black Americans, published by The College Board, cites the importance of pre-college programs. The report states, "The importance of early academic training and encouragement on later career choices cannot be overestimated. The scientific/mathematical pool from which quantitative Ph.D. graduates ultimately derive first appear in elementary school. It emerges strongly before the 9th grade and is essentially complete by the 12th. The pool appears to reach its maximum size prior to senior high school and subsequently declines in size through graduate school." The same report, further points out that the current pipeline for black students is deficient in comparison to white students. Black students lose ground in comparison with their white counterparts at each successive stage of educational achievement - high school graduation, college entrance, college graduation, entrance into graduate school and completion of graduate school. The data below highlight this point: Educational Performance Rates Percentages Whites Blacks Graduate from High School 83 72 Enter College 38 29 Complete College 23 12 Enter Graduate or Professional College 14 8 Complete Graduate or Professional College 9 4 The College Park campus first-time full-time black undergraduate enrollment for Fall 1989 is 15 percent, our highest percentage enrollment ever for this group. While many will point to this percentage as a major accomplishment, others note that we are located in a state where 20 percent of the residents are Black and in a county where 50 percent of its residents are Black. According to reports prepared by our Office of Institutional Studies, 72.6 percent of our undergraduate enrollment are Maryland residents and Prince George's County, one of our primary feeder counties accounts for 19.8 percent of our underclassman. Currently, seventy-three percent of our black undergraduate are Maryland residents and thirty-seven percent of these students are from Prince George's County. Baltimore, with its large black population, accounts for only 2.2 percent of our current undergraduate student enrollment and five percent of our black undergraduate student enrollment. One Third of A Nation, the report of the Commission on Minority Participation in Education and American Life, notes that by the 21st century, one-third of America's citizens will be members of a minority group. As we prepare for the 21st century, with the expected increase of minority youth in our population, schools and universities, it is important that we increase the number of Blacks in all professions. These anticipated changes in the workforce emphasize the importance of substantially increasing the number of Blacks and other minorities in higher education. This report notes that the situation for Blacks is most critical; in the last 10 years not only has momentum of earlier progress been lost, Blacks have suffered actual reversals. For example, during the last ten years, the pool of black high school graduates has been larger and better than ever, however black college attendance rates have experienced a decline, and remain disproportionately low. Access to and success in institutions of higher learning are crucial if we are to have enough Blacks in the academic pipeline in the next century. Findings 1. The College Park campus currently participates in or sponsors a number of Pre-College Outreach Programs. A brief description of each of these programs appears in Appendix E (see file eappendix.txt). Some of our programs are provided to attract and prepare students for specific curriculums, while others are more general in nature. 2. The pre-college programs listed in Appendix E serve approximately 1,000 high school students annually. Eighty-five percent of these students are black students and black males represent about forty percent of the total black participants. The number of students served in the programs are limited due to staff and other resources. The College Park campus outreach programs have contributed considerably to our success in providing access for black undergraduates. But much more needs to occur to increase our black undergraduate population such that it better reflects the State's population as well as the demographics of Prince George's County. A more expanded and aggressive approach along with the earlier identification of these students will be essential. The recommendations outlined below are designed to accomplish these goals. Recommendations 1. Establish and expand outreach programs in the Baltimore City and the Prince George's County schools to identify, prepare and support black youth in pursuing postsecondary educational opportunities. Some of our pre-college programs serve teenagers in these school systems. Often, the number of participants in the programs are limited because of funding. Also, our current programs are limited to high schools, and in a few cases the middle or junior high schools. The "tracking" for many black students occurs as early as the elementary schools, therefore. This recommendation proposes establishing some initiatives for these students as well. 2. Initiate special efforts to recruit black males into our current programs. Black males are becoming virtually extinct in higher education. Extraordinary efforts at the pre-college outreach level must occur or many students will be excluded from the pipeline forever. The recommendation is not meant to propose separate programs, or to discourage active support of black females, but to ensure that black males are adequately represented in our current and future programs. 3. Establish a pre-college outreach program for academically talented black high school students. Typically pre-college outreach programs are geared to specific careers or for students with academic potential. This program should be designed for our most academically talented black students who may not have a specific career interest. One aspect of this program would be to provide the students exposure to our faculty. These students should be provided an opportunity to intern with our faculty to develop expertise in the topic of their choice. 4. Increase financial support for current outreach programs to expand the number of participants that can be served. Many of our current programs are quite successful and should be expanded. Following some assessment of these programs, additional resources should be provided to increase the number of black students who could benefit from the programs.