Graduation rates among minorities at NIU are increasing, but still are a long way from the university-wide rate.

The Illinois Board of Regents has published studies regarding student retention at NIU since 1987. The studies include detailed information about the academic progress of students of all races, as well as the categories “African-American, Hispanic and All Other.” The most recent report presents graduation rate data for eight incoming classes, from Fall 1980 through Fall 1987.

According to the report, graduation rate is defined as the percentage of the freshmen cohort which graduates from NIU within six years of enrollment. A cohort is a group of students, in this case freshmen, who enter at the same time.

The Regents study shows that although there has been an increase in the number of graduating minority students, the figures still are low when compared with the rest of the university.

For example, the graduation rate among African-Americans at NIU has increased from 15 percent for the 1980 cohort to 20 percent for the 1987 cohort. Hispanics in the 1980 cohort have a 37 percent graduation rate and a 40 percent graduation rate for the 1987 cohort. However, those classified as “all other” have a substantially higher graduation rate, with 54 percent of the 1980 cohorts graduating and 57 percent of the 1987 cohorts graduating.

NIU Provost J. Carroll Moody said he is aware that a retention problem among minority students exists and NIU has established several programs to help solve it.

“We are very concerned about the retention rate and we would like to increase it,” he said. “NIU does have a strong commitment to providing educational opportunities for minority students.”

Programs include the Center for Black Studies, University Resources for Latinos and Educational Services and Programs.

“I don’t think that we should consider ourselves failures even though we would like to see more minorities graduate in four years or five years,” he said.

However, Moody said trying to increase the graduation rate by admitting more minorities is not a feasible solution.

“It looks good when you bring them in, but not in the end when they’re not graduating,” he said.

Acting Associate Provost Rosalie Hewitt agreed a problem does exist regarding the number of minority students at NIU and their retention rate.

“It is positive that our numbers are increasing,” Hewitt said. “On the whole we’re pleased with the figures going up, but that doesn’t mean we’re satisfied.”

Hewitt said many different variables can contribute to the low graduation rate among minority students.

“The students might be coming from schools that don’t give them the preparation they need. Others might be first generation students and don’t have as much experience with university life,” she said. “In addition, there may be certain family responsibilities that require them to leave school and there is also the question of financial need.

“Our main interest is to offer them what we can and find ways so they can make the most of their opportunities,” she said. “I think we’re going in the right direction,” she said. “We are making every effort to improve this year, but we realistically can’t expect the same retention rate as that of ‘traditional’ students.

“(Students in ESP) have to in their first year and sometimes second year take courses specifically designed for their needs,” she said. “A lot of work needed for the early years in many cases means more semesters and why the time it takes to graduate might be longer. What is important is the number of successes we have.”

Both Moody and Hewitt agreed additional funding would help increase the retention rate of minority students at NIU.

“The things we have are the right kind of things,” Moody said. “If we had more money, we could beef up these programs.”

ewitt said increased funding would allow more individualized attention to the students.

“We would like to have more labwork and more opportunities in the mathematics lab, writing lab and speech lab,” she said. “If we have more resources, we could have smaller class sizes. There also might be the possibility of offering some programs before they enter the university during the summer. It might be beneficial in adjusting to classes.

“Being able to give more attention to the students’ movement and needs during sophomore year and early junior year where there is more of a potential for academic probation would also help,” she said.

Hewitt said if the university could have more personnel in the advising program, it would benefit all NIU students.

In addition, NIU has programs to help attract minority students to NIU. For example, minority receptions are held annually for prospective minority students and their families which introduces them to the NIU campus and its requirements.

Hewitt said the response to the receptions has been “very successful” and 70 to 80 percent of the students that attend the receptions enroll at NIU the following fall semester.

Additionally, minority students in the top one-third of their class with an ACT score of 22 or higher can apply for a tuition waiver which is valued at the total tuition cost for one academic year. NIU gives about 137 waivers each year.

In order to renew the waivers, students are required to earn a minimum of 12 credit hours each semester of attendance. This requirement applies only to fall and spring semesters and does not take into account any credits accrued in summer courses.

Additionally, students must maintain a minimum GPA of 2.75.

During the 1991-1992 school year, minority students represented 15.7 percent of the undergraduate population. Among these minorities, 7.1 percent were African-American students, 3.7 percent were Hispanic students and 4.6 percent were Asian-American students.