The University of Nebraska-Lincoln is one of the nation’s best four-year institutions in substantially improving graduation rates for African-American students, a newly released national report shows.
UNL was No. 11 among four-year public institutions in the report, authored by the national advocacy group The Education Trust. The university is underlined for its 10-point reduction in the achievement gap between white and black students between 2003 and 2013. In that timeframe, UNL saw a 4.5 percent increase in overall graduation rates and a 13.7 percent increase in graduation rates for African-American students.
The report, published March 23, is titled “Rising Tide II: Do Black Students Benefit as Grad Rates Increase?” and is the second comprehensive Education Trust study in recent months to note how UNL has stood out in improving graduation rates for traditionally underserved and underrepresented minority students.
The first report, published in December 2015, showed that UNL led the nation in narrowing completion gaps between white and underrepresented minority students over the same 10-year timespan.
Amy Goodburn, UNL’s associate vice chancellor for academic affairs and interim dean of enrollment management, said the university’s gains can be attributed to several factors, including efforts to boost retention of all students, and special programs that focus on mentoring and support for underrepresented minority and first generation students. For instance, OASIS -- the Office of Academic Success and Intercultural Services -- and the William H. Thompson Scholars Learning Community both provide academic success classes, peer mentors and program staff, and social, academic, and cultural programming for students who receive various scholarships, many of whom are underrepresented minority students.
