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Poor State of Black Men in Higher ED
NEWS FRIDAY • December 6, 2002
Colleges seek black men
Regents study targets obstacles that deter enrollment in Georgia universities.
Rebecca McCarthy - Staff
Friday, December 6, 2002
Low expectations, a preference for sports over academics, poor preparation and a lack of confidence are factors keeping young black men out of Georgia colleges.
These are some of the findings of researchers hired by the state Board of Regents to help it figure out why so few black men are enrolled in Georgia's public colleges and universities.
The Regents want to stop the decline of African-American male students. With $200,000 provided by the state Legislature, the Regents, who govern the 34 schools in the University System, have commissioned a 52-member task force and launched an investigation to learn what's preventing young black men from attending, and finishing, college in Georgia. The group is charged with having recommendations for action by the Regents by April 2003.
"It's a terrific problem, nationally, and in this state," said University System Chancellor Tom Meredith. "I'm hoping we'll gain some insights. You have to identify problems before you can start to address them."
At the University of Georgia, for example, black men account for just under 2 percent of the student body. Black females outnumber black males at UGA by 2-to-1, a typical ratio at Georgia's public campuses.
UGA student Kununmi Mills, 22, is well aware that he is one of relatively few black men at the state's flagship institution. A native of Stone Mountain and a graduate of Green Forest Christian Academy, Mills knew as a child that he would attend college. He thinks one of the goals of the Regents task force should be to instill the idea of going to college in young men before they enter high school.
"You've got to show them the rewards and the bigger picture that comes after if you have a college degree," said Mills, who's studying computer science and philosophy. "Some guys think of education as a burden, not as something that can lead places."
The dwindling number of black men --- and men in general --- finishing college is being studied by academics and policy experts from California to Connecticut. Georgia is the first to investigate the issue as a statewide problem, according to Bill Harvey, who works in the Office of Minorities in Higher Education, part of the American Council on Education.
In the past several weeks, Paul Warner and Associates, a metro Atlanta market research firm hired by the Regents, has conducted 19 focus groups on eight different University System campuses. The purpose was to elicit from young men themselves what barriers they faced in getting into college and whether they intended to further their educations.
Interviewers talked with young black men who are college freshmen and sophomores, with high school juniors and seniors and with African-American men, 18 to 25 years old, who live in communities with colleges but who aren't enrolled in school.
The high school students were interested in the military, technical school or college "as a way to have a better life than their parents, not for intellectual reasons," Warner said. "They're practical about it. They see schooling as a way to earn more money to get more stuff."
From college students, Warner learned that parents were the biggest influence on whether the young men went to college. Whether the parents had a college degree or not, they drummed it into their son from a young age that he was headed to college, "saying you either go to college or you leave the house," he said. "Sometimes a guidance counselor could identify something and encourage a young man to go to college."
Most troubling to Warner were stories from the 18-to-25-year olds, who were either working in dead-end, low-skill jobs, engaging in some mysterious enterprise or unemployed. They had "fallen out of the loop," he said, and had no way for re-entry. "What's sad is that they're working at McDonald's, but they're still dreaming the dream and thinking they're headed for the NBA."
African-American athletes usually fared well in high school, Warner said, "because at least they graduated. But if they didn't get a scholarship to college, that was it. They weren't prepared academically for college work and didn't go."
For one young man, a minor disciplinary incident --- not tucking in his shirttail --- resulted in a six-day suspension. He fell behind in his classes, couldn't catch up and eventually left school. "I was surprised that one infraction could essentially ruin someone's life," Warner said. "Disciplinary problems are used as an indication that someone isn't college material."
And some of the young men interviewed said they had been taught that college was too difficult for them. Rather than risk failing, they wouldn't even attempt to enroll, "because failure is not an emotional option for them," Warner said. "Their ego is the thing that sustains them. They attempt only those things that are attainable."
Jamie Dillard, 21, of Crawford works as a custodian at UGA. He didn't participate in the survey but believes the initiative is a good idea.
He might now be in college or technical school if he hadn't "made some wrong choices," Dillard said. One of those was buying a new car right after he finished high school. He had to go to work to make car payments and buy insurance, and to pay off credit card debt. In addition to UGA, he works at Dial America.
After three years of mopping and cleaning, Dillard knows he wants to do something else, and believes that studying computer science at Athens Technical College is a viable option. He hopes to be working only one job next year and to find the time for school courses that "will lead to something I'd like to do," he said.
Task force member Kati Haycock said some of the young men Warner interviewed had problems in public school that likely began at an early age.
Haycock, director of the Washington D.C.-based nonprofit Education Trust, which works with school districts to help disadvantaged students, said black children are more likely to be poor and with uneducated parents who haven't prepared them well for kindergarten. They're more likely to have less effective and experienced teachers, who may guide them into less demanding courses, she said.
"On average, 34 percent of white children who start kindergarten go to college, while only 17 percent of black children do," said Haycock. "It's not surprising that, given the skills difference, African-American children are less likely to go to college, and to survive once there."
Jan Kettlewell, associate vice chancellor with the Board of Regents, said that nationally, and in Georgia, a disproportionate number of African-American boys are in special education classes, largely because of behavior problems. Once there, "they never get out," she said. "There's no way they can become college-ready because they won't have the necessary courses. They'll be behind academically forever."
She said that while the Regents can't set educational policies for public schools, they can work as partners with the State Department of Education. The Regents can change programs in the state's public colleges and universities to better prepare principals, guidance counselors and teachers, who assign children into special education classes.
"This is the first time we've singled out a particular ethnic and gender group," Kettlewell said. "We're going to try and implement things that make a difference."
FALL 2001 ENROLLMENT
Institution..................Total........Black... ..Black
.............................enrollment...male.... ..female
RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS
Ga. Tech.....................15,575.......747.......49 4
Ga. State....................25,743.......1,938.....4, 940
MCG..........................2,377........47...... ..148
UGA..........................32,317.......609..... ..1,223
REGIONAL UNIVERSITIES
Ga. Southern.................14,371.......1,455.....2, 176
Valdosta State...............9,230........599.......1,313
STATE UNIVERSITIES
Albany State.................3,456........1,014.....2,142
Armstrong State..............5,747........272.......998
Augusta State................5,407........334.......961
Clayton State................4,675........490.......1,408
Columbus State...............5,521........453.......960
Fort Valley..................2,485........963.......1,3 29
Ga. College/State............5,079........204.......554
Ga. Southwestern.............2,535........141.......50 7
Kennesaw State...............13,951.......435.......1,040
No. Ga. College..............3,863........58........65
Savannah State...............2,270........822.......1,266
So. Poly.....................3,556........552.......24 4
West Ga......................9,030........598.......131 2
STATE COLLEGES
Dalton State.................3,647........33........52
Macon State..................4,485........351.......1077
TWO-YEAR COLLEGES
ABAC.........................2,857........145..... ..314
Atl. Metro...................1,940........623.......1.2 34
Bainbridge College...........1,735........163.......498
Coastal Ga...................2,210........141.......358
Darton College...............3,179........257.......922
East Ga. College.............1,393........183.......307
Floyd College................2,400........67........183
Ga. Perimeter................15,372.......1,511.....3, 467
Gordon College...............3,074........207.......505
Middle Ga. College...........2,165........311.......316
South Ga. College............1,325........89........210
Waycross College.............884..........46........131
Source: University System of Georgia
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