Minority Recruitment and Retention Problems and Initiatives in Higher Education: Implication for Technology Teacher Education

Recruiting and retaining minority students are growing concerns for leaders of colleges and universities across the United States. For a brief period, universities experienced steady progress at opening doors of higher education to minority students. For example, from 1960 to 1975, the number of black students in higher education rose from 150,000 students to approximately 1 million (Green, 1989). Unfortunately, enrollments of black students have remained at a plateau. With the exception of Asian students, participation rates of other minority groups in higher education have also remained stagnant. Further, the retention rates are low for minority students who have chosen to attend college. A recent report by the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities found that 54% of Hispanic students and 63% of black students who had enrolled in four-year colleges had dropped out for good within six years (cited in Wilson, 1990). Although university leaders have confronted the problems of recruitment and retention on a national level, the issues have not been resolved. A growing chasm is reflected in the rates of participation of white and minority students in higher education (Carter & Wilson, 1989).