Bridging the gap: pursuing institutional onus on the path toward equity in higher education

Across the United States, the graduation and retention rates of Black males are significantly lower when compared to the total population of students in the country. Systemically perpetuated through years of oppression, the equity gap persists into higher education as a result of current institutional policies and practices. The Black-White equity gap for college graduation rates contributes to adverse outcomes in social mobility within the Black community. An exploration of literature topics provided background information around the factors that affect Black men's college education: access to equitable education, the impact of structural racism on academic achievement, implicit biases, stress and microaggressions, and the benefits of relational supports for Black male students. Although the literature addresses the benefits of supportive relationships in higher education, research suggests that these relational support opportunities are not as readily available for Black men. Also, the reviewed literature did not directly address the barriers that Black men face in forging these beneficial connections nor did it offer guidance for how universities can help students when essential relational support systems are lacking on campus. The mixed methods study was implemented with a social justice lens toward institutional onus for the purpose of understanding the cause of the low graduation rates for the Black male population within a California university campus, Cal State East Bay. The study centered on institutional practices which address the equity gap, specifically within two support programs on the university campus: The Educational Opportunity Program and the Sankofa Scholars Program. The research used the voice of Black male students through qualitative interviews to explain the results of the quantitative survey which was administered to program membership as a means of obtaining background information. Analysis of both the qualitative and quantitative data sets provided a more holistic understanding of the issue. Three themes emerged from the findings: institutional support, sense of belonging, and life strategy. Although students benefitted from institutional support and sense of belonging, life strategy was unaddressed through campus practices and the data suggested that grades were not positively impacted by the existing efforts. Suggestions to mitigate the effects of the oversights were offered through the student voice.