African American males face major challenges in retention and graduation from institutions of higher education. The 6-year graduation rate for African American males at 4-year public institutions and private nonprofit colleges is less than 40%. This figure suggests that persistence toward degree attainment is a problem. The purpose of this study was to ascertain whether selected precollege- and college-level variables have a relationship to retention and graduation for African American males. Gateway University, a historically black college and university, was the site of the investigation. Three research questions were posed: (a) What precollege variables best predict retention and graduation for African American males? (b) What college-level variables best predict retention and graduation for African American males? and (c) What combination of precollege- and college-level variables best predict retention and graduation for African American males? Five-hundred and sixty-two African American males, entering freshmen for the 2005–2006 academic year, comprised the sample. Inferential analyses, including bivariate relationships, cross-tabulations, chi-square and logistic regression, were performed to determine relationships between the independent (predictor) and dependent (criterion) variables. The results reveal that (a) students with higher high-school grade point averages (GPAs) were more likely to be retained and graduate than those with lower GPAs, (b) students with higher first semester GPAs were more likely to be retained and to graduate than those with lower first semester GPAs, (c) residents of the state were most likely to be retained than nonresidents, and (d) residents of the state and students with higher first semester GPAs were more likely to be retained and graduate than those with lower first semester GPAs.

Full article can be found here: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1521025115571074