Thursday, October 4, 2007
{ T he B LUE B ANNEr}
News
Page 3
investigative report
University grapples with retention rates
UJVC Asheville^s diversity increases, but retaining minority students continues to plague administration
By Neal Brown
Investigative REPORTai
As university diversity
increases, UNC Asheville con
tinues to struggle with retaining
minority students who transfer
or leave at higher rates than their
counterparts.
“We have a retention prob
lem,” said Deborah Miles, head
of the center for diversity educa
tion. “The recruitment and reten
tion rates for under represented
populations are consistently 10
to 20 percent below those of
white non-hispanic populations.
It is not acceptable.”
The most current statistics on
retention date back to 2005,
according to research done by
The University of North
Carolina system. The report
shows UNC Asheville retained
63.6 percent of black students
after their first year, 66.7 percent
of Hispanics students after their
first year, compared to 90 per
cent of Asian students and 81.3
percent of white students after
their first year.
In 2005, the report states there
were 76 Black students, 55
Hispanic students, 51 Asian stu
dents, and 3,111 white students
at UNC Asheville. The total stu
dent population for the school
year was around 3,528.
“The kicker is retention and
recruitment,” said Student Body
President Tristyn Card, a black
student. “It’s like they’re look
ing to find minority students to
come here just to have minority
students be here, but they’re not
going to recruit the type of
minority students who fit this
university.”
The university does recruit for
overall numbers, but it must also
recruit for students who are a
true fit for the university,
according to Miles.
“There must be an intentional
effort to mirror the student pop
ulation with that of the state and
regional demography,” Miles
said. “UNC Asheville must be
intentional and strategic about
recruitment and retention.”
Finding minority students who
fit with the liberal arts education
is one problem, according to
minority student Rachel
Williams, senior student and
member of Student Government.
“I think the university should
find those students who are that
perfect fit and go to them with a
will,” Williams said. “I think
they should honestly find a stu
dent that they really want at the
university. Don’t just go cast
your net for any ole’ student to
fit your quota.”
Since the number of minority
students are rising and the
results for retention are not
Groups of students sit in the Highsmith Union during lunch. UNC
Asheville’s retention of minority students is one the main problems the
university continues to struggle with in its ongoing quest for diversity.
Photos by Nkal Brown - Inykstkiativi; Rh>okii;r
The kicker is retention and recruit
ment. It’s like they’re looking to find
minority students to come here just to
have minority students be here, but
they ’re not going to recruit the type
of minority students who fit this
university.
Tristyn Card
Student Body President
finalized Chancellor Anne
Ponder disagrees that there is a
retention problem.
“Black, Hispanic and Asian
students are retained at a higher
level than other students,”
Ponder said. “I know the stu
dents we admit now are just the
sort of students that will flourish
at the university.”
On August 16 the University
Planning Council Meeting met
and a diversity consultant
Belinda Odom presented a draft
of diversity recommendations
based on campus interviews with
students, faculty, staff and alum
ni from spring 2007.
The meeting outlined steps the
university needs to take. Faculty
and SGA members are hungry
for actual change, according to
Card.
“I think that it is about time
that we stop taking stock of what
is wrong, because we know what
Louise Bottomley, sophomore health and wellness student; Loic
Hereson, senior health and wellness student; and Tania Maleve, soph
omore management and Spanish student sit together during lunch.
is wrong and start actually map
ping out tangible solutions,” she
said.
The total number of students at
UNC Asheville has increased 0.9
percent since last year and the
number of minorities has also
increased 13.3 percent since last
year, according to the Fall
Enrollment Census Report con
ducted by the OH ice ot
Institutional Research on cam
pus.
While the numbers show
improvement, there is still work
to be done, aeeording to Board
of Trustee Member Cissie
Stevens of Asheville who spoke
at the last Board ol Trustee
meeting about diversity.
“We’re not where we want to
be but it doesn't mean you are
getting a bad edueation."
Stevens said. "1 woukl like to
see more evidence of tliversity
and I think we will
Diversity is a big eom|ionenl
to UNC Asheville being an
excellent university and tor stii
dents to reeeiving a top eduea
tion according to Sue
McClinton, Board ot Trustees
member.
“If you arc going to be a top
notch public liberal arts school,
you have to have diverse stu
dents and staff,” McClinton said.
The number of minority stu
dents is increasing at UNC
Asheville and the university is
becoming more and more repre
sentative of the world that stu
dent will go into after gradua
tion, according to Ponder.
“I think that our eurrieulum
and what our faculty and statt
present and lead students
through that there is some good
evidence that students would be
well prepared,” Ponder said. “I
think that the experience of
engagement and practice ol
inclusivcness is fundamentally
the practice of liberally educated
people.”
Others arcn’l sure UNC
Asheville is representative ot the
world where students will woik
but remain confident the univer
sity will soon become that wiiy,
according to Stevens.
“I don't think it is the world
you're going into but it is
becoming that as quickly as any
one knows how to make it that
way.”
Still some arc convinced that it
is unrepresentative ol the world
where students will live and
work, according to Card.
“When you come to UNC
Asheville and you walk around
and you sec the lack ot cultural
diversity it is not an adequate
representation of the world that
these students arc going to
encounter,” Card said.
Diversity is a long term strug
gle and the university luis been
addressing it for 25 years,
according to Miles.
“While I’m not happy with
where we arc I know that we
have moved the contincntiil size
boulder and that we will demol
ish it, if not us then the genera
tions that come,” Miles said.
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