Reading between the lines: whites are to blame for low graduation rates. Solution: relate to the hip-hop-steeped culture of young black men.
Only a fifth of two-year college students get out of school with a degree, and for black men entering community college, the probability of dropping out is even higher, data shows.
Of the 221 black men who entered Chattanooga State last year as freshmen, 124 came back this spring on academic probation and 10 were suspended, said Elaine Swafford, vice president of student affairs.
“A lot of these students are underserved and underprepared,” Swafford said. “They come in needing relationships, needing high expectations set for them and help building their self esteem. … We have to retool them.”
Community colleges and universities have been hemorrhaging minority males from the higher education ranks for years.