Recruit, respond, retain! A comprehensive university study on efforts to recruit African American students, successfully respond to their campus needs, and retain through graduation

According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), from 2000-2010, in higher education there was a 73% increase in the enrollment of African American students in college and universities nationwide, however, the tragedy is that African American students have the lowest nationwide graduation and retention rates, and from 2010-2015 enrollment decreased by 14% (Ginder, Kelly-Reid, & Mann, 2016). Colleges and universities make significant efforts to recruit African American students to campuses to create a more diverse campus community. Data from 1990-2013 show an increase from 10% to 15% in two-year and four-year degree-granting institutions for African American. Unfortunately, with enrollment increases and retention rate decreases, lower degree completion rates result. NCES statistics also report that only an average of 20% of African American students admitted to four-year institutions will actually graduate with a degree (Aud, Fox, & Kewal Ramani, 2010). This lack of degree completion contributes to communities maintaining a continual cycle of economic poverty and racism. As African American students return to their communities without a college degree, it limits their access to opportunities that create upward mobility both socially and economically. It also limits their access to resources to the community. Students that do not return as a resource to the community with a college degree will become yet another product in the cycle for basic survival. Although colleges/universities make significant efforts to recruit students to campus, the university must also develop strategic initiatives to respond to their needs once enrolled. Institutions will need to explore initiatives that will develop connections and engagement opportunities that can contribute to retaining students through graduation. There is continuous debate about best practices to increase African American graduation and retention rates in higher education. Best practices identified include culturally specific focused programs, activities, and services to create more opportunities for students to develop connections to campus socially, emotionally, and academically to support systems available on campus. The challenges or limitations with most qualitative studies in this area is that the experiences can vary for students from campus to campus. Research efforts have not identified how high impact programs, such as programs with support services and mentoring components, can be developed and aligned with culturally specific program practices to increase overall retention rates. The purpose of this research was to determine in what ways Oakland State University (OSU) (pseudonym) addresses the specific needs of first-generation African American students to support their retention and graduation. A thorough analysis of the impact on students' participation in culturally specific programs, compared to students that do not participate in programs, will help to identify the benefits and barriers to persistence.