Higher Education and the Black Atypical Student.

The black atypical student, defined as that black student who would be excluded from most colleges and universities in America by traditional admission policy, is beginning to find entrance into institutions of higher education. There is no indication reported of these institutions admitting large numbers of black atypical students. In the education of the black atypical student institutions appear to be taking a conservative approach, despite the data that has tended to indicate that the dropout rate has generally been higher for regular students than for atypical students. Institutions of higher education have several options for admission policies. An institution can justify its right to select students on any criteria thought acceptable by its trustees, faculty, and administration without regard to race, religion, creed, or nationality. The institution can also choose to use a random method of selecting students. Or, the institution may choose selectively to extend its educational offerings to varying students under varying criteria. Somewhere within these three options the various institutions are choosing their course. But their response to the black atypical student is still in doubt. It is the conclusion of this paper that the response itself can only be made within a consideration of what it is that a particular institution is and would be. (RJ)