Reimagining Retention: A Social Justice Model for Black Undergraduates in the “College-to-and-through” Movement

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Wednesday 7:45 am
  In Roundtable Session: Black Educational Research as Justice Praxis

Abstract

Since the mid-1990s, the University of California has adhered to race-neutral admissions practices. Since then, there have been significant declines in Black student application, admission, enrollment, and retention across UC campuses, and perhaps most notably at UCLA. In 2005, UCLA students and stakeholders created Vice-Provost’s Initiative for Pre-College Scholars (VIPS) program, an alternative strategy aimed at promoting college equity, access, and retention for Black students in Los Angeles County. VIPS implements a student-centered, cohort-based model that provides students with academic and holistic mentoring, beginning as early as 9th grade and continuing through college and beyond. The goal of this conceptual paper is to offer a college-to-and-through approach that supports Black students from pre-college, to college enrollment, and through graduation.

Authors

• Jonli Tunstall, University of California - Los Angeles

• Ashley Williams, University of California - Los Angeles

• Cynthia Estrada, California State University - Channel Islands

• Jaylen Lowe, UCLA

• Seth Duncan, University of California - Los Angeles