Black male retention rates in college tend to be lower than they are for Asians, Whites, and Latino males as well as their gendered counterparts in college. Various factors play a role in the higher attrition rates of Black males in higher education. However, there are programmatic initiatives that can contribute to the academic and career success…

With a decade-long stagnant 34% Black male college graduation rate, there was little understanding of how and why Black male initiatives, designed to improve Black male persistence and graduation in 4-year colleges, affected retention and graduation-related behaviors, as understood by the Black male participants in such initiatives. This…

African American male enrollment in degree-granting postsecondary institutions saw a small increase between 2010 and 2019, rising nine percent over that period. However, their representation only reached eight percent of total undergraduate students by fall 2019, down slightly from nine percent in 2010. Only 37% of African American men who started…

Black males in higher education continue to face persistent challenges due to overt and covert racism, hindering their progress towards graduation, particularly within Historically White Institutions (HWIs). This study examines the factors contributing to the invisibility and barriers faced by Black males, including engagement, academic…

The Graduation Success Rate (GSR) plays a critical role supporting the NCAA's Collegiate Model of amateur college athletics. The NCAA created the GSR to correct a statistical bias in the legally mandated Federal Graduation Rate (FGR) that causes it to underestimate rates. But the GSR's attempted correction causes it to overestimate rates. This…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to understand how low-income Black male community college students who attend a male engagement program describe their experiences with the intersection of race and gender plays a role in their persistence towards graduating in Midwest, Ohio. Through 45-120-minute, semi-structured, open-ended,…

Black male community college students have the lowest retention and completion rates among any racial group (National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, 2017). During this dissertation, I examined the root causes of Black male community college students' low graduation rates through a systematic literature review, and then identified mentoring…

The purpose of this phenomenological was to identify and understand how Black Male Initiative programs contributed to the completion of an undergraduate degree for Black males at HBCUs. The study's central research question was: What role does the Black Male Initiative (BMI) play in Black male undergraduate degree completion at HBCUs in the U.S.?…

African American males have had the lowest baccalaureate graduation rates compared to all other races/ethnicities and genders in higher education (NCES, 2019). Researchers have identified salient factors that contribute to or impede this population's persistence to graduation to mitigate this problem. One factor contributing significantly to…

The Cross the Finish Line e-Learning tool is designed to be utilized by Kentucky State University coaches and athletic department staff who work with Black male student-athletes. The Cross the Finish Line e-Learning tool contains modules that provide information on academics, mental health, and cultural competence to the user. When its use is…

In the United States, Black male students graduate at a significantly lower rate than other student groups, with 38.6% of Black males graduating in six years from four-year institutions and just 21% when time is reduced to four years. This qualitative action research case study used a focus group interview with six participants to understand the…

Latino students are enrolling in college at higher rates than any other demographic, but these developments have not been reflected in increased retention or degree completion rates. A disparity in the rate of degree achievement between Latino males and their counterparts has been referred to as the "vanishing Latino male" phenomenon.…

Community colleges are Black males' primary pathway to higher education. Less than a third of Black males, however, are likely to attain a certificate or degree within 6 years. Although no single intervention can formally improve their academic trajectory, interventions absent of culturally and gender-specific approaches and institutional…

Over the past 10 years, Black student-athletes at Division I institutions have seen their graduation rates grow from 52% in 2010 to 59% in 2020 (NCAA, 2020b). However, even with this growth, Black student-athletes still fall behind their non-Black peers and below the average student-athlete graduation rate of 69% (NCAA, 2020b), with some schools…

We present new estimates of the internal rate of return to early childhood education. Utilizing the nationwide expansion of preschool education in Japan between 1960 and 1980, we initially assess the impact of preschool attendance on high school graduation and college enrollment for men. Subsequently, we compute the social rate of return to…