Raising African American student graduation rates:A best practices study of predominantly white liberals arts college.

Abstract

This qualitative study sought to explore best practices at small, private liberal arts institutions that experienced large increases in African American graduation rates. Particular focus was on institutions that enrolled less than 17% minority students whose overall enrollment fell within the middle 50% of all SAT scores and the middle 50% of institutional full time equivalent (FTE) spending. Two colleges were selected for study via one-on-one interviews of key personnel, focus groups of students, and institutional document analyses. Themes from the data which participants felt contributed to the unusually large African American graduation rate increases are discussed.