National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) data included in America's Challenge: Accelerating Academic Achievement, indicate the scope of the task of reaching the National Goal for Education on Student Achievement and Citizenship. This discussion guide focuses on the five corollary objectives of the National Goal, which are to: (1)…

The report combines survey findings and data from interviews and focus-group sessions on recruiting minority group members for the private college or university governing board. It discusses real and perceived obstacles and recommends resources to assist institutions. Recommendations are based on two premises: (1) more minorities are needed on…

This paper describes an academic assistance program designed to help ethnic minority students adjust to the demands of university life and succeed both academically and personally. The Excel program has three major components: a two-semester, two-credit core seminar; weekly instructional support groups; and peer led tutorial/discussion groups. The…

This booklet promotes the use of focus groups as part of a strategy for understanding and improving minority participation throughout independent higher education. A focus group is a small discussion group designed to elicit perspectives about a particular topic, with discussion generally intended to identify hypotheses, issues, and an overall…

This guide describes a number of models for student mentoring programs at the graduate level, their distinctive and innovative features, and considerations in developing a mentoring program. An introductory section looks at definitions of mentors and mentoring, and discusses the rationale for developing such programs for graduate students.…