“Being a minority on a predominately Caucasian campus, you need that extra support unit, and the office has definitely been that for me,” says Davis.
Oakes notes that other offices and schools across the nation that are struggling to recruit and retain minority students should commit to identifying and addressing at-risk students, capitalizing on partnership opportunities and conducting an internal assessment of institutional trends.
“If you want to increase retention, you’ve got to get metric minded and figure out who’s leaving and why,” she says. “We have to challenge our universities to take more ownership of the success of their students, and we have to really take the time to get to know our students and demonstrate a stronger interest in the personal success of each student.”
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