ACCESS IS NOT ENOUGH October 1989 CHAPTER 3 Undergraduate Students The College Park campus has effectively demonstrate that it can successfully recruit black undergraduate students. Since 1954, the institution has annually increased the number of black undergraduates enrolled. The total in Fall 1989 is 2,750 and we also attained our highest percentage (15 percent) of Blacks in our first-time full-time freshman class. As mentioned in the introduction, the campus trend of increasing black undergraduate enrollment is significant in light of the overall decrease in the number of black students enrolling in colleges and universities across the country and particularly considering the decrease in black males pursuing postsecondary education. The number of black males, nationally, pursuing postsecondary education has declined from 470,000 in 1976 to 436,000 in 1986. Although our campus has increased marginally the overall number of black males in its freshman class, females represent 62 percent of the total. Although we have experienced success in the recruitment of black undergraduates, we have not been as successful in our retention and graduation of these students. The five-year graduation rate for black students is currently 28 percent in comparison to 49 percent for white students. In the recently completed Enhancement Plan, the campus has committed to increasing the black student graduation rate by 15 percentage points in the next five years. This goal, a component of the institution's commitment to excellence, will require full campus participation in addressing the issues identified as problem areas below. The findings below provide a listing of our retention initiatives, academic performance data, financial aid data, and student comments. The comments listed in the findings clearly cite, from the student's perspective, a chilly climate on campus for black undergraduates. This climate is perceived as a major impediment to the improvement of retention and graduation rates for black undergraduate students. Findings 1. The College Park campus has implemented a number of programs, activities and initiatives to support the retention of black students. (See listing of programs in Appendix D (see file dappendix.txt)). Some have been more successful than others, and still others are so new that it is difficult to assess the effectiveness of the offerings. Although the specific components of successful programs differ, the most consistent features of the successful programs are that the students develop a relationship with the staff in the programs and these programs, in return provide a home base for the students. 2. Approximately ninety percent of the black students are admitted to the university as regularly admitted students. Yet their academic performance at the institution results in their being two and a half times as likely to be in an academic category other than the satisfactory performance category. For example, in Spring 1988 black undergraduates accounted for nine percent of all undergraduates, but 21 percent of the students in the unsatisfactory performance category. As these students arrive at the institution with educational backgrounds nearly comparable to those of their white classmates, it would appear that something within the environment of the institution is adversely impacting the academic performance of black students. Undergraduate Enrollments Versus Unsatisfactory Performances and Warnings UMCP, 1987-88 to 1988-89 SPRING 1988 SPRING 1989 Percent Percent Percent Percent END OF SPRING SEMESTER Enrolled Unsat Unsat Warning/ Unsat Unsat Warning/ SEMESTER Perf Perf/Enr Warning Enroll Enrolled Perf Perf/Enr Warning Enroll TOTAL 27,429 528 1.9 1,153 4.2 25,640 461 1.8 939 3.7 Black 2,507 110 4.4 208 8.3 2,470 86 3.5 209 8.5 White 21,105 346 1.6 811 3.8 19,331 312 1.6 592 3.1 Note: Blacks are 9% 21% 18% 10% 19% 22% percentage indicated of total Undergraduate Enrollments Versus Dismissals UMCP, 1986-87 to 1988-89 SPRING 1987 SPRING 1988 SPRING 1989 END OF SPRING Pct. Pct. Pct. SEMESTER Enrol. Dismis Dis/Enr Enrol Dismis Dis/Enr Enrol Dismis Dis/Enr TOTAL 28,020 1,217 4.3 27,429 1,210 4.4 25,640 967 3.8 Black 2,474 261 10.6 2,507 248 9.9 2,470 212 8.6 White 21,791 814 3.7 21,105 823 3.9 19,331 629 3.3 Note: Blacks 9% 21% 9% 20% 10% 22% are percentage indicated of total 3. Reports from Office of Student Aid document that black students are more likely to need assistance to finance their educations. Whereas 31 percent of white undergraduates receive student aid, 65 percent of black undergraduates receive aid. Further, the data show that 49 percent of the black undergraduates work on campus compared to 29 percent of our white undergraduates. Many students (white & black) are also employed off campus, however, these data are not available. 4. Open forums with black undergraduate students were held to solicit the students perceptions regarding their experience at UMCP. Three forums were held and approximately 50 students participated in the discussions. This diverse group, the author believes, is representative of our black undergraduate student population. The students' perceptions, in most cases, are verbatim and in others have been paraphrased to capture several comments on the same topic. The comments are grouped by topic area. Environment (Racism) a. "It is a struggle to be academically successful in a university you do not like because of the way you are treated." b. "Tensions are running high between black and white students. Black students are getting tired of it, i.e., racial slurs in hallways and the hollering of racial slurs out of the windows." c. "White students move away (across the street) if they encounter more than three black students together." d. "Young Blacks think they do not have to prove themselves, but they do. You have to try to be twice as good as whites to get the same results." Faculty/Classroom a. "White students have better attitudes toward Blacks if they have taken Afro-American Studies courses." b. "I feel that professors have more detailed responses to questions asked by white students than to questions asked by black students." c. "Faculty should not single out black students by saying, "How do you feel as a black student about . . . ?" d. "In class the professors are friendly and tell students that they can come back after class, but when students show up for assistance, the attitude changes. They look at you like - "little black girl who needs help." e. "Professors take more time with white students. Black students have to prove that they are here to study." f. "Blacks don't speak up in class, so as not to appear arrogant. We have to become tactful and diplomatic in our classroom interactions with faculty." g. "I was doing a research paper for a 400 level class. When I went to the professor for help, his immediate responses were: "Are you an athlete? Do you need extra credit?" He could not see me as a student trying to get an A." h. "What I had to develop was a sense of being able to walk into a class asserting the fact that I am here to learn." i. "It is a challenge to be in a class when you are the only black student in the class." j. "When I explained to my professor why I was missing classes (work, meeting, etc.) he reacted with surprise that I would have these interests and responsibilities." k. "In the units with large minority enrollments, usually there are some support activities, but little is available for black students enrolled in some of the majors with limited black enrollments. These students feel like a minority within a minority." l. "If you are admitted here, you can succeed here. We are academically prepared but some of us are not motivated." Police a. "Police seem to have more of a vigilant attitude toward Blacks. The campus administration has made it okay to crack down on black students." b. "Police should be required to attend black social functions in plain clothes to better understand what occurs at these functions." c. "Campus police attitudes are a problem. They appear to have a stigma against Blacks." Resident Hall/Judicial Board a. "Resident Advisors pose a threat for black students. Whenever something happens in the dorms, they always assume that it's black students." b. "Resident Advisors should be required to take Afro-American Studies courses in order to better understand Blacks." c. "Racial mix of judicial Board is questionable. Need more Blacks on JUD Board." d. "Sanctions imposed for offenses in the resident hall are not consistent Whereas a white student is put on probation for smoking a joint in dorms, a black student is likely to be put out of the resident hall for the same offense." Improving the classroom climate for undergraduates will be a major challenge for the campus. Each class, an aspect of this climate, is strongly influenced by a different individual. tenured full professors at one end and first semester graduate assistants at the other end. This diversity in the instructional staff may require different approaches, but the instructional staff must become more sensitive to the concerns if the climate is to improve. The curriculum, mutually devoid of minority scholarship contributions, accomplishments, etc., must be expanded to acknowledge these deficiencies. The support provided to assist the black students must be expanded and better coordinated. Non-academic concerns must be addressed. Lastly, special attention must be provided to reverse the enrollment patterns, retention rates and graduation patterns of black males. Recommendations 1. Require each college to establish an academic support unit to provide retention initiatives for black students. This recommendation is designed to provide a "home base" for these students, provide the academic support some of the students need, and bolster the students coping skills. While this recommendation calls for college wide programs, it also recognizes the important role of campus-wide programs such as the Office of Minority Student Education and Intensive Educational Development Program in providing academic assistance for our black students. It is expected that all these efforts will be coordinated such that students are receiving the full support needed. 2. Provide intensive summer program to integrate content on minorities throughout the curriculum, much on the order of the Greer Report initiatives. The Greer Report has argued convincingly that the typical college curriculum is grounded in a world-view that is primarily reflective of male Western European thought and values. Historically scholarship by and about women and people of color have been excluded from the mainstream of American curriculum, and relegated instead to token status as "special topics" courses within traditional discipline and/or separate courses found in women or ethnic studies programs. The marginalization of such scholarship conveys profound messages about its perceived quality and worth, and its value to the larger curriculum and the larger society. Its practical effect is to reinforce the "invisibility" of women and persons of color, by devaluing or excluding from the curriculum content reflective of their life experiences, thoughts, values, or world views. As the Greer Report has advocate strategies supporting transformation of curriculum, this report also calls for the allocations of resources necessary the transformation of the curriculum to include scholarship by and about persons of color. 3. Establish support structures to enhance the likelihood for success for black male undergraduates. These efforts should be geared to provide these undergraduates with the support needed to successfully navigate their experience from enrollment to graduation. The effort should include support groups as well as other initiatives. 4. Require all student employees in Resident Life as well as members of the Judicial Board to complete comprehensive training dealing with the issues of cultural diversity, prejudice reduction and racial sensitivity. Often, many of students have limited background in dealing with students from diverse backgrounds. These sessions will help to provide this exposure. 5. Establish a formal grievance procedure for incidents of racism, etc. in classroom and the workplace. It is expected this procedure will require that all such incidents should be reported to the appropriate Equity Administrator and to the Office of Human Relations for resolution. 6. Provide a spacious, centrally located educational, social and cultural arts facility for black students. The center as proposed would meet some of the students non-academic concerns for office space for black student organizations, expanded space for social and cultural events, and a facility for the training proposed in this document. 7. Establish specific accountability measures at the college level for the retention and graduation of black students. Recommendation one in this chapter identifies the college as the unit responsible for providing academic support for black students. Hence, this recommendation proposes accountability measures to assess the effectiveness of this support.