A new report on the state of higher education for Black and Latino men tells a familiar story: Getting traditionally marginalized people to enroll in college is one challenge, keeping them on track to complete college is another.
We need to do both.
According to the Public Policy Institute of California, “colleges need to find ways to address the academic and non-academic needs of Black and Latino men.”
Their new report, called “How Are Black and Latino Men Faring after Developmental Education Reform?”, points out that, while progress has been made, most colleges are not meeting the goals they’ve set or meeting the needs of these often undervalued populations.
“In California, 60% of Latino and Black men who enroll in community college report that their goal is transferring to a four-year institution,” the report notes. “However, transfer rates remain low across the board, and rates are particularly low among Latino and Black male students. Moreover, we find that 59% of Latino and 66% of Black male students from the fall 2019 entering cohort left the system within three years without earning a degree or transferring.”
The report suggests that when faced with colleges that aren’t responsive to their needs, many Black and Latino men are likely to pursue “short term labor market opportunities for those without a college degree” instead.
Calbright is a Solution
The report notes that “there seems to be consensus among experts in the field that high-touch, holistic, student-centered supports can boost retention and outcomes.”
That’s the approach Calbright takes – combining cutting edge online education with “high touch” systems to connect students with real people who know them and understand their needs. And we can confirm that it works.
Calbright is significantly more diverse than most community colleges (which are themselves significantly more diverse than most four-year institutions). As of the most recent reporting:
- Over half of Calbright students (52.4%) are Black or Latinx
- Just under half of students (49.9%) are male
We are reaching these traditionally underserved groups.
At the same time, Calbright’s persistence rates are higher than those of most community colleges. According to data compiled for our last Strategic Vision:
- 60% of students in the California Community College system will move from their first term to their second, while the remaining students leave
- At Calbright, over 73% of students move from their first term to their second
So our higher diversity comes with higher persistence rates. This success come from a combination of factors, including:
- Designing an education model around a student’s life, rather than making students work their lives around a static education institution
- Creating meaningful connections among students, staff, and faculty and developing opportunities for increased rapport with fellow students, so that college isn’t isolating
- Using new research and developing new best practices to find ways to continuously support students and keep them from falling behind
It’s a clear sign that while colleges need to do more to support Latino and Black men, Calbright is paving the way in this strategy.
