If We Admit Them, Will They Stay?

Abstract

The retention of racial minority students lies at the core of diversity efforts instituted by colleges and universities across the nation. Withstanding the changing racial demographics of the U.S. and the need to have qualified racial minority professionals serving diverse communities retention and matriculation heighten in importance. With the retention challenge that many predominately White institutions (PWIs) face, this study aimed to understand how “social connectedness” related to African American student retention in a recreation and leisure studies program. Focus group methodology was utilized to chronicle the lived experience of African American students. From the analysis of the data three key themes emerged: (1) Connectedness to the academic program; (2) connectedness to the campus; and (3) importance of faculty. The third theme includes two sub-themes: diverse faculty and importance of minority faculty. The findings suggests: 1) overall, the focus group participants did not feel socially connected to the academic program nor the campus; and 2) these particular students did not have a strong sense of belonging, as demonstrated by supportive relationships with faculty.