Tech minority recruitment and retention remain strong
By Anishi Desai
Over the past few years, organizations at Tech have made great efforts to increase minority enrollment and retention. According to Diverse: Issues in Higher Education magazine, their efforts are paying off.
A recent college ranking report by the magazine lists Tech as the number one producer of African American engineers at the master's level.
Tech also ranked third in awarding engineering bachelor's degrees to all categories of minority students. It ranked first in awarding engineering doctoral degrees to Hispanic students.
According to the Office of Institutional Research and Planning, Hispanic student enrollment this year was over 40 percent higher than that of Fall 2000. There has been a similar increase in Native American enrollment at Tech.
These vast changes in enrollment and retention of minorities are coming about mainly through the efforts of programs like those created by the Office of Admissions and the Office of Minority Education Development (OMED).
OMED is in charge of dealing with minority retention and performance. They have developed many services and programs in order to help minorities after they have been admitted, including transition programs like Challenge, developmental workshops and mentoring programs.
The Office of Admissions is also undertaking many initiatives to draw in minority students and improve minority enrollment at Tech.
"The Minority Recruitment Team (MRT) that is run out of Admissions by Keith Jordan has been a great success. We often hear parents and students speak highly about the students that make up that team," said Gordon Moore, director of OMED.
Some of Tech's most successful minority recruitment programs include Welcome Weekend, which allows accepted students to experience life at Tech through an overnight stay, and Family Affair, an event that allows high school students interested in attending Tech to visit campus with their parents. Both of these programs are run by the MRT.
One of Tech's most beneficial programs aimed at recruiting minority graduate students is Focus. As part of the Focus program, prospective graduate students are invited to visit Tech's campus every January and learn about the graduate and Ph.D. degrees offered.
According to Moore, part of this program's success is due to the fact that it allows undergraduate students to communicate with faculty, graduate coordinators, current graduate students and graduate alumni about the importance of graduate work and careers.
This event also coincides with the city of Atlanta's annual celebration in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Students who attend Focus are able to learn about all that Tech has to offer as well as have the opportunity to participate in the King Day celebrations.
Another factor that plays an important role in the retention of minority students at Tech is the various resources available to minority students. These organizations include the African American Student Union, the National Society of Black Engineers and the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers. Organizations like these provide valuable support and information to minority students.
Scholarships from the government, organizations and corporations also contribute to attracting minority students. However, these are often difficult to obtain.
"The competition for these funds is at an all-time high...there are alternative opportunities via work study, internships and cooperative education programs...[Students] have to investigate them all and be diligent in [their] pursuit of any funds," Moore said.
OMED and the MRT will still face some challenges with recruitment in the future.
"The legal climate surrounding affirmative action programs has changed the way institutions of higher education can recruit. Universities across the nation are much more limited on what they can do to recruit minorities," Moore said.
Another issue Tech is dealing with is funding.
Top minority students are often pursued by many colleges, a situation that allows them to pick and choose which school they go to. When presented with a range of good college options, students' decisions are often affected by the financial package that each school offers. Limited funding can make it difficult to attract these top students.
Tech continues to find ways around these problems, however.
"Tech's admissions department has worked diligently to make sure all recruitment programming is balanced and representative. The admissions personnel have done a great job of working within the legal guidelines to maintain a diverse student body," Moore said.
Tech continues to work to improve minority enrollment and retention as part of its efforts to assemble a talented and diverse student body. If the Institute's track record thus far is any indication, the future remains bright for minority students.
