In spite of an expanding enrollment of African American males in community colleges in the United States, the early departure of this minority group is one of concern. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore African American males’ identification of the factors that contributed to their persistence at community colleges. Data were collected through structured interviews with 7 African American male community college graduates who were enrolled at a 4-year university when the study was conducted. Data were analyzed through by coding and categorizing in order to determine themes. Social integration and social cognitive models were used to obtain an understanding of the factors that allowed these students to persist in their studies and obtain their associate degree. With this study, the researcher aimed at creating a mental picture of African American male students who have completed an associate degree by identifying the factors that African American males perceived contributed to their persistence. This study builds upon the limited amount of research available which focused on African American males attending community colleges. The researcher sought to bring understanding to factors affecting the persistence of African American males at community colleges. The study’s findings are significant as they highlight African American males’ identification of persistence factors; this information could be used by community college administrators to better support the success rates of African American males.

Improving college access and success among Black males has garnered tremendous attention. Many social scientists have noted that Black men account for only 4.3% of the total enrollment at 4-year postsecondary institutions in the United States, the same percentage now as in 1976. Furthermore, two thirds of Black men who start college never finish. The lack of progress among Black men in higher education has caused researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to become increasingly focused on ways to increase their access and success. Offering recommendations and strategies to help advance success among Black males, this monograph provides a comprehensive synthesis and analysis of factors that promote the access, retention, and persistence of Black men at diverse institutional types (e.g., historically Black colleges and universities, predominantly White institutions, and community colleges). It delineates institutional policies, programs, practices, and other factors that encourage the success of Black men in postsecondary education. This is the 3rd issue of the 40th volume of the Jossey-Bass series ASHE Higher Education Report. Each monograph is the definitive analysis of a tough higher education issue, based on thorough research of pertinent literature and institutional experiences. Topics are identified by a national survey. Noted practitioners and scholars are then commissioned to write the reports, with experts providing critical reviews of each manuscript before publication.

Community college leaders recognize the need for a more systemic and comprehensive approaches to increasing the retention rates of African American males, which was the impetus for this study. African American males within the community college system are not persisting and graduating at the same rates as that of their male or female counterparts, and approximately 70% of Black male undergraduates who start college never finish, which is the lowest college completion rate among both genders and all racial/ethnic groups in higher education (Harper, 2006a). This is compounded by a gap in the research regarding the existence of academically and socially high achieving African American males, as most research focuses on their underachievement. The purpose of this narrative qualitative inquiry was to explore the experiences and perceptions of AFRICAN AMERICAN males who successfully navigated and graduated from an urban community college in Northern California, in order to identify the factors that contributed to their persistence and success. The rationale for utilizing a narrative qualitative inquiry was this approach aligned with the study's goal of "giving voice" to African American male students' educational experiences and successful outcomes. This research study identified the three main themes of, experiencing success, involving and engaging African American males on campus, and receiving institutional support. Four results were identified; (a) involvement and engagement inside and outside the classroom are critical to African American male persistence and degree completion, (b) interpersonal connections between students and the community at large (peers, faculty, staff, and administrators) are integral to providing both validation and support as core factors to African American male persistence and degree completion, (c) validating experiences affirm positive interactions with community college faculty and are associated with African American male persistence and degree completion, and (d) self determination was an important attitude that propelled African American males forward to develop the kind of self-efficacy needed to complete their degree. Arising from this research were recommendations for the enhancement of community college programs to support African American male student success. Recommendations are also made for future research to deepen understanding of factors that support or thwart the success of these students.

The purpose of this research study was to learn why low retention and academic success rates among 18-21- year-old African American male students enrolled in community college may be related to enrollment in remedial courses and self-efficacy. The questions that I tried to answer were: To what extent does enrollment in remedial courses relate to the retention and academic success rates of African American males enrolled in community college? What is the level of college self-efficacy among African American male students enrolled in community colleges? How does self-efficacy of African American males enrolled in community college relate to their overall retention and academic success rates? I attempted to develop the research by implementing a quantitative method. A researcher generated survey and Solberg’s College Self-Efficacy Instrument (Solberg, V.S., et al, 1991) offered data that can be used to answer the research questions. The literature suggested that this population graduates from high school not college ready which leads to enrollment in remedial courses and low self-efficacy. By identifying these potential impacting factors, community colleges can develop initiatives that may improve, increase, encourage, and empower African American males to perform at higher levels leading towards earning degrees in their chosen field, thus, possibly achieving retention, and academic success.

Background: African American males' experience in higher education is often categorized with negative terminology that does not reflect notions of success. Most research addressing the success of African American males in higher education illuminates factors that impede access to success and is often situated in university settings. Very little research is dedicated to examining the experiences of African American males in community colleges and even less research is published on their perceptions of success Purpose: To examine and understand the concept of success from the perspective of African American males enrolled in community college and identify how institutional and non-institutional factors affect their concept of success. Setting: Interviews were conducted at community colleges in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Subjects: Seven African American males enrolled in at least 6 credits at a community college in were interviewed. Research Design: Qualitative interviews using a semi-structured question matrix; the question matrix was designed to elicit responses related to defining a personal concept of success. Data Collection and Analysis: Face- to- face interviews were conducted on college campuses. Audio recordings were collected, transcribed, and then coded using computer- assisted qualitative data analysis software. Coded excerpts were grouped into prominent themes. Findings: Six primary themes were identified from the interview data. • Almost all participants stated that academic success had nothing to do with academic performance. Academic success was situated in overcoming challenges in an academic environment. • Success in general is more important than academic success. • The concept of success changes based on life experiences. • Feeling isolated, positive and negative interactions with faculty and peers contributed to the concept of success. • Negative imagery, stereotypes, financial status, and family support contribute to how African American males perceive themselves as successful. • Overcoming daily challenges based on race is indicative to how African American males equate success. Conclusions: While persistence and completion are important, academic success as defined by African American males in community college does not pertain to academic performance. Deeply rooted issues of race and racism influence a general definition of success. Concepts of success change overtime as significant life events occur and as more encounters with racism are realized. Overcoming challenges that affect the intersections of race, class and gender are more accurate descriptions of success. African American males in community college are very aware of how fragile their lives are as targets of racial profiling. Avoiding situations where others may not feel safe in their presence and continuously compensating for racial barriers that must be overcome in order to succeed is burden that is carried daily. For African American males, the only concept of success that matters is surviving the daily challenges of being an African American male for example, not losing their life at the hands of police officers.