The Retention Status of Underrepresented Minority Students: An Analysis of Survey Results from Sixty-Seven U.S. Colleges and Universities. AIR 1995 Annual Forum Paper.

Retention and graduation rates of underrepresented minority students were studied during 1985-91 with first-time freshman cohorts at 67 U.S. colleges and universities. Data were also collected from 17 institutions for science, engineering, and mathematics (SEM) majors by race and gender. Research areas included: headcounts, average admission test scores, retention rates after one and two years, and graduation and continuation rates within 4, 5, and 6 years. Findings included: underrepresented minorities constituted 14 percent of 1985 entering freshman and 19 percent of 1991 freshmen; 6-year tracking of the 1985 and 1986 cohorts of 312,795 first-time freshmen indicated that 80 percent continued to the second year and 69 percent progressed to the third year of college; after the first year, retention rates were 73 percent for Blacks, 72 percent for Hispanics, and 69 percent for American Indians compared with 81 percent for the other ethnic groups; after the second year, the retention rates were about 59 percent for Blacks, 62 percent for Hispanics, and 54 percent for American Indians. Additional information is provided on the effects of gender and institutional selectivity on retention and graduation rates. (Contains 28 references.) (SW)