Increasing Retention Rates for Black and Latino Men
How the University of Tennessee Knoxville's Success Academy is retaining Black and Latino men
Alexa Silverman, Senior Director, Student Experience and Well-Being Research Kayla Laughton, Research Analyst
Peer cohort programs are valuable for facilitating students’Â sense of belonging. Many institutions have cohort programs, such as summer bridge programs, where students attend workshops and sessions as a group, but they rarely extend beyond the summer of a student’s first year. These short-term programs, even when specially designed for Black and Latino men, do not provide sufficient opportunities to find spaces where they are not the only Black or Latino man in the room.
Black and Latino men who participate in extended cohort programs can talk about shared experiences and be a part of the majority throughout their time in college. This gap in offerings at predominantly white and majority-female campuses can impact Black and Latino male retention and graduation rates.
The vice provost for student success at the University of Tennessee – Knoxville saw these impacts firsthand. UT Knoxville analyzed student success data and found that the Black and Latino male graduation rate was 23% lower than the university-wide graduation rate. The vice provost and her team conducted a survey of Black and Latino men and discovered that improving students’ sense of belonging inside and outside of the classroom could improve student outcomes.
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Retaining Black and Latino Men
“When you look at [Black and Latino male] retention and persistence rates … there’s a good chunk of them that come back after year one, but [the rates] continue to decline every year for four years.”
Dr. Amber Williams
Vice Provost for Student Success, UT Knoxville
Extending the cohort program to four years
UT Success Academy creates tailored programming for Black and Latino men
In 2021, UT Knoxville welcomed its first cohort of students to the Success Academy; a four-year cohort program specifically designed to increase retention and completion rates for Black and Latino men. The program offers Black and Latino men continuous opportunities during college to connect as a cohort rather than leaving them in an environment where they are unlikely to interact with other minority males after a year.
The Success Academy allows Black and Latino men to engage with peers from similar backgrounds in academic and social settings and provides them with a space where they aren’t the minority, increasing students’ sense of belonging. Students enter the program in their first year and remain with that cohort throughout their time at UT Knoxville.
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Academic engagement
through group meetings, peer coaching, and seminars
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Career advising and tutoring
through UT Knoxville’s Academic Success Center
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Social convenings
such as a reception for students and families and study parties
Year-by-year support for Black and Latino men
Planning student programming around each phase of the student lifecycle
Success Academy is unique because it is a four-year cohort program with academic and social programming intentionally designed for Black and Latino men. Students participate in different programming during each year they are involved in the Success Academy; focusing on building and strengthening the skills they will need for the next stage in their academic or post-graduate careers.
First year
- First-year seminar on academic planning
- Peer coaching and small group work
- Leadership training
Second year
- Networking opportunities with alumni
- Weekly seminar focusing on building strengths
- Experiential learning through industry tours
Inaugural cohort participating now
Third/fourth years
- Students become peer mentors
- Service learning and civic engagement
- Internships and research opportunities
Planned for 2023 and beyond
Early success for Success Academy
UT Knoxville sees higher retention rates and a larger incoming class
Though the program is still only in its second year, and the first cohort will not graduate until 2025, Success Academy has seen early success in retaining Black and Latino men and has continued to grow. The program increased its incoming class size 67% by beginning the application process earlier than the previous year. It’s first-year retention rate was 91%, which is 13% higher than the 2021-2022 non-Success Academy first-year retention rate for Black and Latino men.
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