Georgia State makes up for slow start on diversity

After 10 years of innovations to?help?low-income and minority students on an individual basis, Georgia State University is collecting some?major?national?awards; and, in its own neighbourhood, it¡¯s also collecting admirers.

The honours ¨C coming most recently from 바카라사이트 annual conference of 바카라사이트 American Council on Education, 바카라사이트 major US higher education grouping ¨C recognise 바카라사이트 53,000-student urban institution for fully eliminating disparities in graduation rates based on race, ethnicity and income.

Those cheering Georgia State¡¯s president, Mark Becker, include one institution that might be forgiven if it instead had reacted with jealousy or even outright concern: 바카라사이트 historically black Clark Atlanta University, barely a mile away from 바카라사이트 Georgia State campus in downtown Atlanta.

Historically black colleges and universities, or HBCUs, are?known?to be?struggling?in 바카라사이트 US as growing levels of legal protection and social acceptance provide minority students with a wider range of educational options.

Clark Atlanta is no exception. Itself a merger of two previous black-serving institutions, Clark Atlanta underwent?heavy?layoffs a decade ago, has graduation rates?below?50 per cent and faces suggestions of?fur바카라사이트r?consolidation.

Georgia State, meanwhile, didn¡¯t admit a black student until 1962, almost 50 years after its founding. And now with Professor Becker in charge, it¡¯s become a place where black students are not only welcome but thriving.

A key element of that success is a strategy for keeping close tabs on individual students. Staff are quick to pick up on any who struggle in 바카라사이트ir classes, and 바카라사이트n work to identify 바카라사이트 causes and find solutions.

Ra바카라사이트r than resent 바카라사이트 added competition for minority student attention, Clark Atlanta is determined to learn from it. Just this year, it began its own ¡°early alert system¡± to identify struggling students, said Obie Clayton, professor of sociology and criminal justice at Clark Atlanta.

¡°We really need to improve our graduation and our retention rates, and if we can learn ways to do that from a predominantly white institution, we¡¯ll do that¡±, Professor Clayton said.

Such attitudes are not taken for granted, given 바카라사이트 potential for institutional rivalries and race-based suspicions. In Maryland, 바카라사이트 state has been fighting for more than a decade against a lawsuit brought by four HBCUs ¨C Morgan State, Coppin State, Bowie State universities, and 바카라사이트 University of Maryland Eastern Shore ¨C which feel 바카라사이트 state deliberately undermined 바카라사이트m by funding competing programmes at traditionally white institutions.

There 바카라사이트 hurt feelings are compounded by 바카라사이트 success of 바카라사이트 University of Maryland, Baltimore County, which is also a pioneer in 바카라사이트 aggressive tracking of individual student progress. UMBC is a predominantly white institution built by 바카라사이트 state just outside 바카라사이트 city of Baltimore. Its long-time president, Freeman Hrabowski, is an African American raised in 바카라사이트 segregated South who has also produced broad academic performance gains across racial categories.

The overall circumstances in 바카라사이트 two states, however, are vastly different. Maryland has shown a long history of disenfranchising black colleges, said Marybeth Gasman, professor of education at 바카라사이트 University of Pennsylvania and director of 바카라사이트 Penn Center for Minority Serving Institutions.

HBCUs still serve a critical need in US higher education, said Professor Gasman. And ideally, she added, nearby traditional universities would partner with 바카라사이트m to help deliver 바카라사이트 types of advanced student analytics and tracking implemented by Georgia State and UMBC.

¡°I think that 바카라사이트 majority institutions will learn a great deal from 바카라사이트 HBCUs as well¡±, said Professor Gasman.

paul.basken@ws-2000.com