Each year, nearly 400,000 minority students enroll as freshmen in a four-year college, hoping to realize all of the opportunities that earning a bachelor's degree affords. Many arrive on campus having overcome underfunded high schools, an intimidating college-admissions process, and daunting financial circumstances. Yet despite their persistence in surmounting such barriers, more than half don't attain their goal--a bachelor's degree--even after six years. This brief highlights the efforts of public colleges and universities that have boosted graduation rates for minority students--sometimes even closing the gaps between minority students and their peers. The data presented here provide a baseline for colleges seeking to raise minority graduation rates and show that improvements are taking place in a range of settings. The focus is on the "top gainers" among public colleges and universities in graduating underrepresented minority students--African-American, Hispanic, and Native-American students. Nationally, two-thirds of minority students who attend a four-year college attend a public institution. Given the mission of public colleges to serve the higher education needs of their states, these institutions must do their utmost to ensure that far more young Americans from minority backgrounds earn a college degree. (Contains 6 figures and 7 notes.)