African American college students have historically faced many forms of rejection and isolation at Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs), particularly during the early years of academic integration (Allen, 1992; Mendoza-Denton, Downey, Purdie, Davis & Pietrzak, 2002). This study was conducted to determine if African American students who…

Through a qualitative collective case study research design, the study captured the social and academic experiences of 13 African American nontraditional undergraduate female students enrolled in a historically Black college campus (HBCU) located in the southern United States. Experiences of 13 African American nontraditional undergraduate female…

Diversification of our country's science talent pool is critically needed and can only be achieved by stimulating interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) among students from a wide variety of cultural backgrounds. However, motivating, increasing the number, improving retention rates, and graduation rates of…

This research seeks to understand the experiences of African American female undergraduates in STEM. It investigates how familial factors and science identity formation characteristics influence persistence in STEM while considering the duality of African American women's status in society. This phenomenological study was designed using critical…

The retention of rates for freshmen students in Historically Black Colleges and Universities had been comparably low leading to low graduation rate. In order to understand this phenomenon, there was a need to investigate the factors that affected retention rates of freshmen students in HBCU Institutions. The retention of students in higher…

This article captures the life histories and professional futures of preservice teachers at three institutions of higher education. In this article, we focus on the experiences and expectations of 4 preservice teachers. We find that, although African American and White preservice teachers both see themselves as advocates for their students, they…

The purpose of this study was to more fully understand the socialization experiences of African American college students, and to investigate and/or uncover new information that can offer meaningful insight for transforming institutional barriers that interfere with the success of African American college students. The existing literature…

Despite the number of arguments in support of or against the value and relevance of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), there is little literature that takes an in-depth look at the diversity among HBCUs and the students who choose them. The purpose of this study was to explore the college choice motivations and academic…

Anecdotal research is a common phenomenon in the study of distance education. In an effort to review some of the factors that affect student satisfaction, an existing instrument was used to gauge learner perceptions of online interaction/communication, learning and performance, collaboration, hardware and software issues and the quality of…

Historically, education has played a central role in the lives of Blacks. Although Blacks continue their penchant for education, Black males have not fared as well in the educational pipeline. Data for this study emerged from a qualitative investigation of factors that promote success for academically underprepared Black males at a historically…

According to the US Department of Education (2001), Black college students, when compared with other racial groups, have the highest drop out rate at both two-year and four-year colleges. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to examine factors that might place Black students at risk of discontinuing their higher education. A path analysis was…

The focus of this study was to explore factors influencing the disparity in the acceptance rate for African American students into medical school as compared to their white counterparts. This study compared the college environment of Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Principally White Institutions, with respect to African American…

Experiences of first year female Black students who self-identified themselves as lesbian and attended a historically Black university are examined. A reconceptualized Model of Multiple Dimensions of Identity and the Multidimensional Identity Model were used to establish the framework for this study. Overall the study provided a current identity…

Enrollments of non-Black students at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) have recently increased to the point that 11% of all undergraduate students enrolled in HBCUs in 2001 were White (U. S. Department of Education National Center for Education Statistics [NCES], 2004). Accelerated transdemographic enrollment patterns (Brown) at…

This practice brief is one of a series highlighting key practices undertaken by some of the many successful Building Engagement and Attainment for Minority Students (BEAMS) schools during the project's five years of data collection and action plan implementation. These practice briefs accompany a monograph that details the process BEAMS…