By
Mindy Jones
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Black, non-Hispanic rates up 9 percent, higher than other state universities
The UA has raised its minority retention rates during the last 10 years by focusing on the social and academic needs of minority students, said Rick Kroc, Office of Curricular and Enrollment Research director.
University of Arizona retention rates must be analyzed individually in order to accurately evaluate them, said Anna Wilkinson, senior program coordinator of the UA Decision and Planning Support Beal Center.
The four groups generally included in the term minorities include black, non-Hispanic; Asian and Pacific Islander; Hispanic; and American Indian and Alaskan Native.
Asian Pacific Islanders have raised their retention rate 4 percent during the last three years. The Hispanic, and American Indian and Alaskan Native students' retention rates have risen between 1 and 3 percent, Wilkinson said.
Retention rates are significantly lower for blacks, American Indian and Alaskan Natives, and Hispanics than Anglos, said Lynette Cook Francis, UA Multicultural Programs and Services associate dean and director.
Anglo students have about a 77 percent retention rate, according to the decision and planning support Web site.
Cook Francis said she does not think one department can be blamed for the difference in retention.
"The accountability of retention rates falls in the laps of everyone," Cook Francis said. "UA seems to be lacking a central location that brings together the efforts of all of the departments trying to increase the minority retention rates, both on the academic and student life side of the spectrum."
However, black, non-Hispanic retention rates are up 9 percent from three years ago, Wilkinson said.
Although Cook Francis said this figure is higher than those at Northern Arizona University or Arizona State University, UA Africana Studies acting director Julian Kunnie said the struggle to raise retention rates is not over.
"I would be cautious in painting a glowingly positive picture as to the retention rates for students of color," Kunnie said. "The fact that they come back for another year does not mean they graduate or that they get all the skills needed to succeed. The figures are deceptive of the actual progress."
However, Salomon R. Baldenegro, senior research analyst for the Department of Multicultural Programs and Services, sees a positive side to the numbers.
"The atmosphere has changed from an indifferent one to one where steps are being taken to recruit, promote and welcome minority enrollment," Baldenegro said.
In 1988, Gov. Rose Mofford convinced the Arizona House of Representatives to pass a law that provided for the allocation of funds to state universities specifically for the recruitment, retention and graduation of minority students, Baldenegro said.
Within its first year of existence, the UA was allocated $1.3 million for this purpose, Baldenegro said.
This helped to fund 47 of the 140 programs dedicated to minority recruitment and retention at the UA, including the New Start program and the Office of Minority Student Affairs, Baldenegro said.
This program was dismantled in 1993 and reemerged as the Department of Multicultural Programs and Services with a revised mission to help people with financial disadvantages, physical and mental disabilities, and also minority students.
Some freshmen students said they are positive about the steps the UA is making towards increasing the enrollment and retention of minority students.
"Although I am noticeably a minority, it doesn't mean I only hang out with people who are multicultural," said Patrice Nolen, an accounting freshman, who is black. "I have walked into places and felt out of place, but I think I am made more uncomfortable by people of my own race than by the majority here on campus."
Nolen's friend, Jacquelyn Gregory, whom she met through the New Start program, said she thinks the university is doing a lot to help minorities.
"I don't know about many social activities centered towards minorities, with the exception of the sororities and fraternities, but I do know there are a lot of tutoring and educational opportunities available to us," said Gregory, an undeclared freshman who is also black.
One of the tutoring and academic advising outlets available to minorities and those qualifying for financial aid is the Math Science Learning Center, said John McNeill, the center's interim coordinator.
"It is everyone's responsibility to keep the students coming back to this institution," McNeill said. "If they come back for a second year and again for a third, it is pretty safe to say that they are going to stick around."
Kroc said he thinks that in order to increase minority retention rates, the UA must strengthen the ties each student has with mentors, tutors and other members of the campus.
"Although we are not satisfied with our minority retention rates, we are happy that they are increasing over all," Kroc said. "I think we're on the right path."
