Ohio State University Reports Success in Boosting Retention Rates for Black Men

The percentage of men among African-American college students has been declining in recent years. Today black women make up nearly two thirds of all African Americans enrolled in college. In past issues of JBHE we have highlighted successful programs aimed at increasing black male participation in higher education at the City University of New York and at the University of Georgia.

Ohio State University is also reporting success in its efforts to retain black male students. The university says that more than 90 percent of the black men who matriculated in the fall of 2006 returned for their sophomore year. This is a record level and surpasses the retention rate for African-American female students at the university.

The Bell Resource Center on the African-American Male was founded three years ago. The center establishes contact with all black men as soon as they arrive on campus. The center provides one-on-one interaction, access to campus resources, and enrichment and leadership programs for black males.

Copyright © 2008. The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. All rights reserved.