Minority Access to Higher Education

Educators in higher education continuously grapple with the problem of retention particularly with minority students. This book examines a model for an alternate system of educational delivery which addresses the 'revolving door' phenomenon. Utilizing the Minnesota Experiment with neighborhood learning centers in North and South Minneapolis as a case study, this work hypothesizes that three theoretical constructs are vital to the sustaining of such an alternate educational delivery mechanism: sponsored mobility on the part of leaders in the community and at all levels of administration, a value-added pipeline approach that takes stock of cultural barriers and traditional methods of grading and assessment, and a milieu for study that is 'user friendly.' Analyzing the successes but also the failures of these centers as confirmation of the value of the neighborhood learning scheme, the author proposes that educators in duty and conscience are called upon to invest resources and special effort to avoid pitfalls and adopt measures to ensure the fruition of such ventures. Contents: CHAPTER I; Introduction; Nature of This Study; Limited Focus of Study; Institutions Under Study; Hypothesis of Study; Overview of Study; CHAPTER II; Concept, History and Legal Perspectives of Affirmative Action in Higher Education; CHAPTER III; Conceptual Frameworks: Meritocracy vs. Affirmative Action; CHAPTER IV; General Thrust of Political Analysis; CHAPTER V; Demographic Features of Phyllis Wheatley and Sabathani Neighborhood Learning Centers and Minneapolis Community College Outreach; CHAPTER VI; Minneapolis Community College Outreach to the Two Neighborhood Centers: Sabathani and Phyllis Wheatley; Conclusion; Annotated Bibliography; Appendices.