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Matthew Lynch published in HBCU's, Higher Education

Some HBCUs struggling with NCAA academic requirement

A new NCAA requirement that governs if a college or university’s athletic teams will have the ability to compete in the postseason is hitting some HBCU’s pretty hard.

The Academic Progress Rate, or APR, is the rule that the NCAA uses to “hold institutions accountable for the academic progress of their student-athletes through a team-based metric that accounts for the eligibility and retention of each student-athlete for each academic term,” according to diverseeducation.com.

This new rule makes it so that all Division 1 schools would be judged by the same APR.

That’s a mouthful.

But APR is judged in four-year periods, so some of the HBCU’s facing expulsion from postseason play are being judged on academic performance starting in the 2013-14 school year.

According to diverseeducation.com, some of the schools that may be on the outs are Florida A&M University, Savannah State University, and Prairie View A&M University. There are 7 HBCU’s with teams facing penalties.

In an effort to comply, those HBCUs, and other schools, are seeking a deferment of at least one year so that they may show improvement in “their performance in the classroom.”

Also–the NCAA gave “limited-resource institutions” “more flexibility to meet the APR standards.”

Still, with HBCU’s already low funding and state legislatures slashing money that goes towards higher education, some of them were bound to struggle.

Hopefully the NCAA grants the APR extension that will allow these HBCU’s to comply with the order. Disrupting athletic programs could mean some serious financial and morale consequences on the HBCUs involved.

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Matthew Lynch published in HBCU's, Higher Education

How much trouble are HBCUs really in?

According to essence.com, the plight of HBCUs is quite serious. From finance issues to declining graduation rates, some of the latest stats regarding how well, or maybe bad, HBCUs are doing is quite alarming. How much trouble are HBCUs really in?

By way of of a study published in Newsweek, “fundraising is a major problem for HBCUs.”

The study gives a comparison of the two of the nation’s “richest” schools in terms of how they are sectioned. Howard University receives nearly $590 million from the government, which on the surface, seems like a lot of money.

But compared to the funding that Brown University receives, Howard is dwarfed. Brown is on the receiving end of over $3 billion in government funding each year.

Brown has a bustling alumni base that donates generously. Not saying that Howard doesn’t as they certainly have proud alumni. Yet the differences are hard to miss.

Moving further along in the study, a new book suggests that HBCUs are seriously on the way out. There are currently 104 HBCUs, but as the book predicts, that number will dwindle down to just 35 soon.

Then there is the declining graduation rate and enrollment numbers at HBCUs and the peril is nearly tangible.

Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has a plan to underpin HBCUs by funding them with over $25 billion. That still may not be enough.

Some of our nation’s best minds have come out of HBCUs. Saving them should be at the top of our list of educational priorities and we should fight to find new ways to make these schools relevant.

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Matthew Lynch published in Equity, Higher Education, Matthew Lynch

Diverse Conversations: Alternate Pathways to the College Presidency

In the past, college presidents from other schools and college vice presidents have most often ascended the ranks to fill empty presidential seats. While this still happens about 19 and 25 percent of the time, respectively, other leaders like provosts and deans are increasingly being considered to fill the college president vacancies. Some schools even search outside the college community to find leaders from other industries that fit the bill. There is really no hiring formula that applies to all college president spots and a “qualified” candidate could feasibly jump several levels of hierarchy to claim the spot.

Lately the academy has turned to former military officers to help lead their institutions. Recently, I sat down with Gen. Charles Krulak, president of Birmingham-Southern College to speak to him about how he used his distinguished career in the military to transition to a successful career in academia.

Q: What drove your decision to enter academia following your military career?

A: I did not actually join academia right after my military career. Rather, I first became the chairman and CEO of an international bank. Then I joined the board of a professional football team here in the United States and a professional soccer club in the United Kingdom, as well as the boards of Union Pacific and Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold. It was only after all those activities that I realized that what I missed more than anything was the relationship I had in the U.S. Marine Corps with the young men and women of today. The desire to reconnect with the next generation of leaders led me to seek a college presidency.

Q: Why did you choose Birmingham-Southern College?

A: Interestingly, I had never even been to the state of Alabama, nor had I ever heard of Birmingham-Southern. My name had come up in presidential searches for three other colleges or universities when I was invited to visit the city of Birmingham on an unrelated matter. While I was here, a friend who knew I was looking for a new challenge told me about BSC, which was currently looking for a new president. My wife and I visited campus and we spent six hours on an individual tour in which we replicated all the activities we had experienced while going through the interview process elsewhere. At the end of those six hours, we knew without a doubt that BSC was the place for us. Why? First off, the quality of the students. We found great young men and women of character who were clearly more driven to serve on Main Street than to profit on Wall Street. Second, we met a remarkable, selfless faculty who truly believes that the education they provide can and should be life-changing. Third, I encountered a staff who clearly saw that their main purpose was to serve the student and the faculty members who teach the students. All in all, there was a unique sense of family that I found at no other campus.

Q: How has your military background influenced your presidency?

A: As a military officer, I spent a lifetime around men and women who truly reflected the diversity of our nation. While BSC is a welcoming campus that has always strived for diversity, when I arrived, I didn’t encounter the magnitude of diversity I was accustomed to. That has now become a priority for the whole college, and we’re taking proactive steps to address the situation. Although we’ve just started out, we’ve become a more representative campus in a very short time, and that includes students, faculty, and staff. For instance, in the class that matriculated this fall, 22 percent identified as Asian American, Hispanic, African American, Pacific Islander, Native American, or multiracial.
Another thing: the military is often seen as a very hierarchical organization with little room for consultation or discussion. The reality is totally different. And so I’ve tried since arriving at the college to make sure communications remain open and to strive for transparency and informed debate, especially between administrators and the faculty. I really want to make sure I get input from the broadest possible perspective, especially as we shape the college’s future.

Q: What can higher education learn from the military, and vice-versa?

A: The biggest takeaway is that at the end of the day, character counts. The effectiveness of a professor or a staff member—or the president!—is directly related to her or his strength of character, moral courage, and integrity. We need to remember that our role is not just to prepare students mentally, but also to develop their strength of character, for that’s what will sustain them when they’re in the “real world.” The military, on the other hand, could learn a lot from higher education. From an administrative perspective, higher ed. has shown me how to slow down and value the process, especially when it comes to shared governance. From an educational one, we need to remember that there’s a huge difference between simply training young people—that is, loading them up with specific knowledge—and truly educating them to be critical thinkers, problem-solvers, and connectors of ideas. That’s what colleges like Birmingham-Southern do so well, and it’s why the U.S. will continue to be a leader in innovation well into the future.

Q: As a former member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, you’re clearly a strong leader. What do we need to do to create the next generation of leaders?

A: First off, I believe that leaders are made and not born; that you can in fact learn leadership. Also, leaders must have a foundation and that foundation is a strength of character. Thus, as you’re developing young leaders, you must start with that foundation and then build it up from there. The specific traits, methods, and even “tricks” that help make leadership effective are nothing without that basis in character, which is why I feel that’s one of the most important things we help develop as educators.

Q: What do you like to do in your spare time?

A: What spare time? Seriously, along with my “day job,” I attend almost every sporting event, performance, and other event on this campus. I love being out there to support the students! And then there’s travel to visit alumni and spread the word about BSC in other cities. My wife and I love to read, do crosswords, and watch movies. But the reality is, at least 90 percent of my time is spent on campus.

We would like to thank General Krulak for participating in this interview.

 

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Matthew Lynch published in Higher Education, Matthew Lynch

Queering Campuses Prompts Reflection, Reform for Universities

Note: The following guest post comes to us courtesy of Jacob Bell, a junior at the University of Maryland pursuing a dual degree in journalism and general biology. He currently works as the staff writer and web content manager for Student Voice and is a general assignment reporter for the University of Maryland’s student newspaper, The Diamondback. Jacob is also the features chair of “Stories Beneath the Shell,” which is an online multimedia publication. You can learn more about Jacob by connecting with him through LinkedIn or following him on Twitter, @realjacobbell.

The word ‘queer’ can mean many things. It can be a noun or an adjective, derogatory or empowering, a reference to gender and sexual identity or a departure from normalcy. It can also be a verb. “To queer something,” according to Dr. Charlie Glickman, a sexuality educator of nearly 25 years, “is to take a look at its foundations and question them.”

For Alex Borsa, a junior molecular biophysics and women’s, gender and sexuality studies double major at Yale University, it is the verb form of queer which matters most. As the president of the university’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Student Cooperative, which serves as the umbrella organization for all of Yale’s LGBTQ groups, Borsa works to increase visibility of queer and marginalized students and make the campus a safer, more inclusive environment.

Borsa achieves these goals, in part, through his participation with IvyQ, an annual, inter-Ivy League LGBTQ conference that attracts 300 to 500 attendees. The conference advocates social organization, political activism and community building among LGBTQ students and groups.

“It is the only time that students are in such a large space comprised of almost only LGBTQ people,” Borsa said. “Being at a social event with 500 queer people is something most people don’t get to experience, [and] does a lot to change people. It was probably the single most transformative process I’ve been to in my college experience.”

Yale hosted the 2013 installment of the IvyQ conference, which has made its way to a different Ivy League school each year since its inception in 2010. Borsa served as a volunteer coordinator for the event, and assisted former Yale conference chair Hilary O’Connell with event production. In spite of a blizzard that struck New Haven, Connecticut, the same weekend as the conference, the Yale IvyQ team was able to deliver an event true to the mission of IvyQ, according to Borsa.

The 2013 conference offered light entertainment, such as dances, lunches and group breakout sessions, as well as 30 to 40 formal colloquiums and workshops from a series of students and guest speakers about topics including gender activism, asexuality, and the meaning of the LGBTQ community now versus in previous decades.

“These are always going to be issues,” Rebby Kern, the media communications and programs manager for Campus Pride, the leading nonprofit organization dedicated to making higher education more LGBT-friendly, said. “But if we can come to a place where we can talk about these issues … in a safe environment, I feel we’ve done our job as far as a movement.”

The conference also prompts discussion on issues, such as class, privilege, mental health, race and racism, that are present across many colleges and universities and affect marginalized groups related to or outside of the LGBT spectrum.

These discussions play a large role in IvyQ’s ability to “queer the campus,” or “challenge, question and deconstruct the status quo,” of the host school, Borsa said.
And as the number and diversity of the voices contributing to the conversation increases, so does the pressure on higher education to improve existing systems.

“I think student voice means not being afraid to challenge large institutions, even the administration itself, on how we think Yale should be bettered,” Borsa added.

In April, Yale held a weekend-long mental health and wellness event to address complaints from students and groups like IvyQ regarding the slow response times and lack of information coming from its Mental Health and Counseling Department, which 22 percent of the student body visits at least once per year, according to a 2011 report.

In the same month, Yale also held Take Back the Night, an event where students shared sexual experiences through speeches, poetry and song to raise awareness about sexual violence and community respect.

“For me personally, the idea of institutional commitment is the big thing,” D. Andrew Porter, a summer fellow at Campus Pride, said. “ [As a movement], we’re not just talking about LGBTQ students, and that’s causing campuses to look at all students who fall under that big umbrella word, ‘diversity.’”

The next IvyQ conference will be held in the fall of 2014 at Dartmouth College, which has received news coverage and student criticism in the past year concerning the school’s handling of homophobia, racism and sexism both on campus and in Dartmouth Greek life. In February, students presented the Freedom Budget, a sweeping reform that enumerated more than 70 actions the college could take that would help confront and diminish discrimination.

The school’s president, Philip J. Hanlon, and then interim provost, Martin Wybourne, released a statement in the wake of the Freedom Budget outlining steps the administration planned to take to address the students’ suggestions, such as allocating millions of dollars to hire and attract a more diverse campus faculty, and expanding a university program that supports minority groups in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields.

By April, however, student dissatisfaction was not quelled and resulted in protests outside the president’s office and the administration building.

For Nathen Huang, a senior psychology major at Columbia University and leader of Columbia’s IvyQ organization, Dartmouth’s hosting of the conference comes at an opportune time, one in which the school’s administration is primed to listen to the voices of campus students.

“Student voice is the opportunity to offer insights to improve the community or build new relationships that have never been explored before,” Huang said. “Even if not every one who goes to IvyQ comes from the activist community, there are also people who [are involved in other ways], and they’re able to express their own ideas and opinions.”

Going forward, Borsa, Huang and fellow IvyQ members want to increase access to the conference through additional funding so more people can contribute to the discussion. They also hope the organization continues to spark conversation between university officials and students about how to better educational environments.

“It’s important for everyone to think of these things,” Borsa said. “That doesn’t mean you have to be on the front lines of everything, but it does mean that it’s important to think about how social factors shape your everyday life. IvyQ challenges people to see things in a different way.”

(Dartmouth’s Office of Pluralism and Leadership did not respond to Student Voice’s request for comment before this story’s publication).

 

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Matthew Lynch published in Diversity, Equity, HBCU's, Higher Education, Matthew Lynch

Black Men and College Advantages: Fair or Unfair?

There’s no denying that the numbers are dismal when it comes to black young men who attend and graduate from colleges in the U.S. Statistically speaking, black men have the lowest test scores, the worst grades and the highest dropout rates – in K-12 education, and in college too. The school to prison pipeline is a real phenomenon, with state prisons systems determining their future populations with stunning accuracy based on fourth-grade reading assessment scores. The recognition of this educational crisis has led to some strong initiatives targeted at young black men with the intention of guiding them through the college years and to successful, productive lives that follow.

Any college initiatives targeted at a particular group of people are bound to see some push-back from those who are excluded. Despite the obvious need for college incentive programs for the young black men of the nation, there are plenty who complain about the special treatment these young men receive. Even highly-regarded institutions like Stanford University have alumni who have spoken out against affirmative action practices, pointing out that instead of eliminating racial discrimination, these initiatives have actually led to reverse-discrimination on college campuses.

A Gallup Poll found that 67 percent of Americans are against any type of special treatment when it comes to admittance to college based on ethnicity or race, favoring instead a system that admits students based solely on merit. The belief that black, and other minority, college students who are given special considerations for admittance and financial aid are somehow stealing opportunities from other deserving students is certainly widespread and gaining traction.

Black Women Cry Foul

Perhaps the most surprising of those who are vocally against the increasing amount of financial, mentoring and other college transitional services for black men are black women. On the surface, this would appear to be a detrimental activity. Isn’t the fight for equality and opportunities for black men really a fight for all black people? If you ask the black women who are angered by the initiatives available for their counterparts, that answer is “no.” Where is the love for black women with college aspirations – many of whom fall into disadvantaged categories themselves?

Programs like San Jacinto College’s Men of Honor target black male college students with life programs that not only aid in college graduation, but in the development of life skills and networking opportunities. The TRUMPET program implemented at Northeastern Technical College has increased the retention rate for black students from around half to nearly 90 percent. Programs like these that focus on guiding black male college students through the process appear to be working, but is it at the detriment of female black college students?

Why DO black men seem to be hogging all the college initiative programs?

Less Need for Intervention

The truth may lie in the success of black women in college settings without an overwhelming amount of extra help. Black women are enrolling in college at a higher rate than any other group, and black men graduate from college at a rate that is two-thirds lower than their female peers. Black women appear to be a victim of their own successes, it seems, when it comes to being targeted for help to get through college. Of course there are college incentive programs for black women – from on-campus initiatives to United Negro College Fund options – but the overall spotlight seems to favor black men where college encouragement is concerned. And the women resent it.

So what is it about the young women of the black community that seems to inherently better prepare them for the college setting – without as much of an external push to succeed as the black men? What is so different between a sister and brother raised in the same household that leads the female to prioritize college, while the male needs someone else to prioritize it for him?

It can all be traced back to the contemporary setup of black families. You can call it stereotyping or overgeneralizing, but 68 percent of black women who gave birth in 2012 were unmarried and 48.5 percent of black children grow up in single custodial home, with the overwhelming majority of those parents being mothers. The divorce rate for black families is higher than for white or Hispanic families. More black children grow up without the influence of their fathers than any other demographic.
As a result, black women tend to grow up with strong female role models who emulate independence and a self-sufficient lifestyle. These single moms go out and get the job done every day, and as their daughters get older, they realize that there is a better life outside of these constraints – and that college is the path that will get them there. The young men, though seeing the same role models from their mothers, do not have a male version to look up to in many cases.

Which is why college motivation within and without the black community is so vital for these young men. At this point in the nation’s history, they are in the greatest need for the lifestyle change that higher education can provide, and not just for individual growth but for the benefit of the entire nation. Black women, presumably tired of carrying the load for their community, may not be able to see beyond what they perceive as unfair when it comes to their personal circumstances to the long-term goal of a stronger black community. So while the negative feelings of black women college students regarding the advantages afforded their male peers are founded, a look at the long-term benefits of these male-centric initiatives on college campuses may change their perspective.

 

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Matthew Lynch published in Equity, Higher Education, Matthew Lynch

Fostering Diversity: A Necessary Step for HBCU Survival

Historically black colleges and universities, or HBCUs, have provided a top-notch education for African Americans since pre-Civil War days. These schools, founded prior to 1964 with the goal of serving black students, once provided windows to educational pursuits when other doors were slammed shut to African Americans. With diversity at all American colleges and universities on the rise, and the emergence of flexible online programs, where do HBCUs fit in the contemporary higher education picture?

A Powerful Educational Presence

According to ThinkHBCU.org, 70 percent of the nation’s African American physicians and dentists earned their degrees at HBCUs. Over 50 percent of public school teachers of African American descent earned their degrees at HBCUs. African Americans with communication technology degrees from HBCUs make up 44 percent of the nation’s total and 43 percent of mathematics degrees awarded to African Americans come from HBCUs. The range of industries addressed in the offerings of HBCUs is vast, contributing to a larger and more integral African American presence in the workforce.

Women gain an especially strong advantage when they earn a degree from an HBCU. The United Negro College Fund has reported that females who graduate from Bennett and Spelman Colleges make up more than half of the African American women who eventually earn science doctorates. To put that in perspective, that number is higher than the amount produced by all seven Ivy League sister schools put together. In a workplace when minorities often still struggle to reach the highest ranks, African American women hold a strong advantage with a degree from a HBCU.

Remaining Relevant

When HBCUs first began popping up in America, they were a necessity to higher educational paths for African American young people. Benefactors like John Rockefeller founded Spelman College in Atlanta (named after his wife, by the way) in order to give black students a shot in a nation still very much in the throes of Jim Crowe-law domination. Most of the 105 HBCUs were founded in former slave areas that still presented steep challenges for African Americans that aspired to higher education but faced discrimination in dominantly white college settings.

The original intent of HBCUs worked. Some of the nation’s brightest and most influential minds came out of HBCUs. Langston Hughes was a Lincoln University graduate. Martin Luther King Jr. earned his degree from Morehouse College. Talk show queen Oprah Winfrey, education expert Marva Collins and Brown University President Ruth J. Simmons all earned degrees from HBCUs (from Tennessee State University, Clark Atlanta University and Dillard University, respectively). These powerful pillars of the African American community were able to achieve optimal success in life because of the education they received from HBCUs.
What about now? With white students quickly becoming one small aspect of non-HBCU settings, do ambitious African American students really need a HBCU to achieve success? Perhaps a more poignant question is this: does it help or hinder the African American community when its members attend a HBCU today? I think the answer is grounded in the particular student’s intent. Young African Americans today do not NEED a HBCU to obtain a general education, but they may find particular programs at individual schools meet their career objectives. Some may even find academic inspiration in the original founding purpose of a HBCU and that feeling of carrying on tradition may fuel them to graduate, make an impact in the world and give back to their college or university.

The Future of HBCUs

The original purpose of HBCUs is no longer the only reason but that does not mean that these institutions lack other attractive qualities. In fact, many students with white European, Latino or Asian roots are choosing HBCUs because of the strength of the academic programs and generally lower tuition costs. During the 2011 – 2012 school year, West Virginia State, Kentucky State and Delaware State universities all reported that more than 25 percent of their populations were made up of white Americans. A continued push for diversity on HBCU campuses is the only way these schools can transition from the necessity of the past to the potential of the future. This means implementing more online course options and flexible degree programs so that all students can picture themselves succeeding at a HBCU. Gratitude for the original intent of HBCUs combined with forward educational thinking for students of all heritages will carry HBCUs to the next level of achievement in higher learning circles.

Read all of our posts about HBCUs by clicking here.

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Matthew Lynch published in HBCU's

Report: HBCU students better prepared after graduation than peers

A new Gallup-USA Funds Minority College Graduates Report shows that “HBCU graduates are more likely to prosper after graduation than students who graduate from non-HBCUs.”

The news comes as HBCUs are under scrutiny for effectiveness and if black students are better served by attending Predominately White Institutions (PWI).

Some HBCUs are struggling to survive due to debt but this report shows that the product being produced at America’s predominately black colleges and universities is pretty good. For anyone who has been lauding the relevancy of HBCUs for some time now (like me), this is music to our ears.

The study found that over 50 percent of HBCU graduates who were surveyed viewed their prospects after graduation as positive while just under 30 percent of black graduates from PWIs viewed them as positive.

Again–all good news for soon-to-be graduates and for the health of HBCUs. Of course, there is always a ‘but’ when studies are released.

“The report found that four in 10 black HBCU graduates are more likely to thrive financially while fewer than three in 10 black graduates of other schools can say the same.”

That news is likely tied to the overall health of the economy and how graduates may find their place in an ever changing workforce. I’m also not sure what the definition of “thrive” is in this case. There is a difference, I think, in being comfortable or being affluent.

Overall, though, this news is great for HBCUs and the students who attend them. The report found that graduates from HBCUs are better emotionally, have stronger relationships, and are more goal oriented as well.

Read all of our posts about HBCUs by clicking here.

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Matthew Lynch published in list, Matthew Lynch, OpEducation, Policy & Reform, Teachers

5 Fascinating Statistics About High School Dropouts in America

Considering the flack the United States educational system gets for its underperformance, you might think that the high school dropout rate would be a cause for concern. However, the reality of our high school graduation rates would actually surprise you. Here are some fascinating statistics about high school dropouts in the United States.

  1. The numbers have fallen across all demographics. In 1972, the government started tracking the dropout rates specifically for Hispanic students because this group has consistently highest percentages of students who do not get their high school diploma. Back then, over one-third of all Hispanic students dropped out. Today that number is down to 13.6 percent. However, the group still leads all races and ethnicities when it comes to young people out of school with no diploma or G.E.D.OK

In 1967, black students dropped out at a rate of 29 percent. That number is down to 7 percent, the same as the national average, today. White students have always held on to the lowest percentage of the dropout pie chart, even when their numbers represented a larger majority of total student populations. In 1967, 15 percent of white students dropped out of high school; today, just 5 percent do.

  1. Low-income students are much more likely to drop out than their middle-class peers. In 2009, students from families in low-income brackets ran a risk of dropping out that was five times higher than high-income peers. Students from low-income families are 2.4 times more likely to drop out than middle-income kids, and over 10 times more likely than high-income peers to drop out.

Still, the future is not completely bleak for kids from disadvantaged economic environments; in 1975, low-income students dropped out at a rate of 16 percent but that number now sits comfortably under 10 percent.

  1. Students with disabilities are still being left behind by schools. Household income is the not the only disadvantage many dropouts have, though. Students with learning or physical disabilities drop out at a rate of 36 percent. Overall, a student who does not fit the traditional classroom mold, or who falls behind for some reason, is more likely to lose motivation when it comes to high school and decide to give up altogether.
  2. Men and women drop out at around equal rates. When it comes to gender, there has not been much differentiation when it comes to dropout percentages in over 40 years. There have been four years since 1972 when the rate for young men dropouts was noticeably higher than young women: 1974, 1976, 1978 and 2000.
  3. D.C. has the lowest high school graduation rate and Iowa has the highest. According to the latest set of national statistics, released in 2012, high school graduation rates were the lowest in the District of Columbia (59 percent), Nevada (62 percent), New Mexico (63 percent), Georgia (67 percent) and Oregon and Alaska (both with 68 percent). By contrast, the states with the highest graduation rates were Iowa (88 percent), Vermont and Wisconsin (87 percent), and Indiana, Nebraska and New Hampshire (86 percent). The type of area a student lives also impacts graduation rates. The average high school grad rate in the largest 50 U.S. cities is just 53 percent, compared with 71 percent in suburban America.

As you see, there are many factors that seem related to the high school dropout rates in this country. However, one thing is certain—in most demographics, fewer and fewer students are dropping out. That is encouraging, even if we do have a way to go.

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Matthew Lynch published in HBCU's, Higher Education, list, Matthew Lynch

3 Initiatives Designed to Help Minorities Succeed in College

It seems that graduating from high school is no longer the end goal of P-12 learning – earning a college degree has replaced it. By 2018, 60 percent of jobs will require a college degree. On Monday, I wrote about the nationwide average high school graduation rate being 80 percent – which is admirable but also means that at least 1 in 5 kids won’t make it to college classes. When you factor in the high school graduates that bypass college completely, it seems that at some point America’s workforce will simply not be able to meet the demands of its employers. When it comes to minorities who graduate high school and are ready for the rigor of college coursework, numbers are bleak.

A new report from the College of Education at the University of Arizona found that less than 1 in 10 minority high school graduates in the state are adequately prepared for college. Non-minority students are not much better off though, with only 2 in 10 prepared for college after graduating from high school. A rise over the past 15 years in minority students in elementary and high school in state, as well as economic disparities between students of color and their white peers, are cited in the study as drivers behind the high school graduation-college readiness gap.

There are several methods that have been proposed to help minorities have better access to education. Here are just three of them.

  1. College scorecards and higher affordability. In 2014, Obama proposed the implementation of a rating system that would provide the general public with greater details about the total cost, graduation rates and alumni earnings of individual colleges and universities.

The program has since been nixed thanks to opposition from lawmakers and university heads, but the idea was that students choosing schools with higher ratings would have more access to Pell Grants and affordable loan programs. The plan was twofold in nature – first, getting more useful information into the hands of consumers and second, providing better affordability for young people who seek out higher education.

The rising cost of a college degree has been a concern of the Obama administration throughout both terms in the White House. College graduates in 2010 left their schools with an average of $26,000 in debt, leading to higher student loan debt in America than credit card debt. In order to reach his goal of leading the world in percentage of college graduates by 2020, Obama has been vocal about lowering the cost of the college process and providing more targeted, useful programs that address the needs of the economy.

This new “college scorecard” proposal was meant to one more step in that direction. Like public K-12 schools, colleges would be held more accountable by the federal government and would be compared to each other through data that truly matters.

Numerous publications claim to have the perfect formula in place for ranking the “best colleges and universities” based on a variety of factors but none are officially sanctioned by the government. The President’s ranking plan would avoid the fluff of other rating systems and address the core of educational matters: cost, graduation success and chances for achievement in the career that follows. These are the real stats that all students, whether recent high school graduates or those returning to campus for the first time in a few decades, need to make informed decisions.

In terms of minority students, the college ranking plan would have been beneficial. Though minority college student numbers are rising, 61 percent of college students in 2010 were considered Caucasian in comparison to just 14 percent Black students, 13 percent Hispanic students and 6 percent Asian or Pacific Islander students. Based on these statistics alone, minority students are at a disadvantage when it comes to attending and graduating from college. Every student situation is different but the cost of college and accompanying loan interest rates certainly play into the unbalanced collective college population.

This idea will not be implemented, but it’s still easy to see how a rankings system that effectively provides more grant money and more affordable loan options to students will make the dream of a college education a reality to more minorities. As more first-generation minorities attend colleges, choosing schools with high graduation rates (many of which likely have strong guidance policies in place) and good job placement will mean more career successes.

  1. Online class offerings. Each year online learning initiatives become less of a fringe movement and more of an incorporated, and accepted, form of education. More than 6.7 million people took at least one online class in the fall of 2011 and 32 percent of college students now take at least one online course during their matriculation. It is even becoming commonplace for high schools to require all students to take an online class before graduation as a way to prep them for the “real world” of secondary education.

The flexibility and convenience of online learning is well known but what is not as readily talked about is the way distance education promotes diversity of the college population. With less red tape than the traditional college format, online students are able to earn credits while still working full time, maintaining families and dealing with illnesses. Whether students take just one course remotely, or obtain an entire degree, they are able to take on the demands of college life more readily – leading to student population with more variety.

The Babson Survey Research Group recently revealed that while online college student enrollment is on the rise, traditional colleges and universities saw their first drop in enrollment in the ten years the survey has been conducted. This drop is small – less than a tenth of one percent – but its significance is big. A trend toward the educational equality of online curriculum is being realized by students, institutions and employers across the board. The benefits of a college education through quality online initiatives are now becoming more accessible to students that simply cannot commit to the constraints of a traditional campus setting.

  1. Free community college. During his sixth State of the Union address, President Barack Obama spelled out a proposal that would offer two years of community college for free to any student that wanted to take advantage of it. Once enrolled, these students would need to maintain a 2.5 grade-point average, stay enrolled at least half time and be on track to graduate on time to keep receiving the tuition-free access.

This program would, essentially, make the first two years of a college education a basic American right – aligning it with universal access to a K-12 (and even pre-K in some states) education. Of course there would be some requirements for having access to that right and it would not be mandatory, but the basic premise would be the same: free higher education for any American student.

Arguably this plan helps everyone in the long run. More Americans with access to a college education means a stronger economy and less college debt means more money in the pockets of college graduates that they can then pump back into that economy. Proponents of the plan say that it will particularly help minorities when it comes to college attendance because it removes the cost barrier that tends to discourage these groups from enrolling.

What do you think are some other initiatives that will help make more individuals from minority groups ready for college?

Click here to read all our posts concerning the Achievement Gap.

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Matthew Lynch published in Higher Education

Will a college education guarantee higher wages?

The Obama Administration’s College Scorecard is kind of the gift that continues to give. It gives prospective students, and their parents, the ability to compare schools without having to fully visit too many colleges.

Another fantastic win from the scorecard is that we are provided with an idea of how well students do financially after they’ve graduated.

According to an article via Hamptonroads.com, the scorecard “tracks salaries 10 years after the freshman year.” The good news? Student salaries used for the purpose of the article range from $34,000 to $56,000. The bad news? Salaries all depend on a student’s major.

But that’s not really bad news as someone with a degree in finance is likely to make more than a student who chooses a career path in journalism.

The economy also plays a major role in determining one’s salary. Some companies constrict employment, increase employee production, and fail to produce salary increases because of how tight its bottom line becomes due to the state of the economy.

Even with those deciding factors, college graduates still make more than that of those with just high school diplomas. Most companies still prefer a college graduate compared to someone who just has a G.E.D. or high school diploma. A college degree won’t guarantee that you are wealthy, but it should help you live a more comfortable life than if you didn’t have it at all. Now if we could just get the pursuit of those college degrees to be a little more affordable in the first place, we’d really have something.

That statistic isn’t likely to change anytime soon, and students should still strive for a college education to maximize their lifetime earning potential.

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