Study: Wisconsin's technical colleges graduating more minority students

Wednesday, January 24, 2007 2:13 AM CST

Hed: State technical colleges graduating more minority students

By Paul Sloth

Journal Times

Racine

- The number of minority students graduating from state technical colleges doubled in the past five years, from 2001 to 2006.

A Wisconsin Technical College System study of all 16 colleges showed the number of minority graduates climbed from 1,323 in 2001 to 2,655 in 2006.

Gateway Technical College numbers matched the statewide trend. The college graduated 175 minority students in 2001 and 371 in 2006.

"These figures demonstrate the success of a number of retention programs we have put into place," said Zina Haywood, Gateway's executive vice president. "We have an Early Alert program that communicates academic success issues to students and their instructors and counselors early enough to address them."

Gateway has noticed significant increases in minority student enrollment in recent years, which has contributed to the increased graduation rates, Haywood said.

Gateway also has a number of support services available to students. The college works closely with students to apply for financial aid to help them stay in school.

Colleges located in communities with a more diverse population showed the largest annual increases in minority graduates.

The top three are Milwaukee Area Technical College, which graduated 427 more minority students in 2006 than in 2001; followed by Gateway Technical College (Racine/Kenosha Area), which increased its annual number by 196. Madison Area Technical College graduated 162 more minority students in 2006 than in 2001.

Latino graduates show the largest five-year increases, 132 percent. Asian-American graduates had a 113 percent increase, the number of black graduates increased by 85 percent and American Indian graduates showed a 64 percent increase. Nearly 56 percent of all minority graduates are males.

Minority students accounted for 25 percent of Gateway's 25,500 enrolled students during the 2005-06 academic year.

"Our outreach to minority populations is paying off, but we have to be careful we don't put higher education out of reach," said Charlie Daniel, education director for Wisconsin Technical College System's minority and retention services.

"Decision-makers in this state need to understand how important it is to maintain the accessibility of the technical colleges to all Wisconsin residents. Individuals who have the desire to enhance or develop their skills need to have a wide-open door to do so."

The numbers are significant, Haywood said, because of the programs the school has put in place to help keep students enrolled, which can be difficult at a place like Gateway where the average student is 30 years old.

"Their biggest hurdle is not necessarily the academics," Haywood said. "It is the life that surrounds what they are doing that is the biggest challenge."

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