s, enrollment, and retention.Why does equal opportunity in higher educational institutions continue to be a problem for minorities? Why do the retention and graduation rates for Blacks continue to decline? And, what are viable options for improving the access and retention of minorities in institutions of higher education? These are some of the major questions that must be addressed in a systematic research agenda."The Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s was in part a struggle to gain for minorities equal access to the nations institutions of higher learning" (Lang, Barriers to Blacks, p.514). Yet, over a quarter of a century later, minorities are still underrepresented, as students, faculty, and staff, at predominately White colleges and universities across the country. The inequitable status of minorities in higher educational institutions continues has generated considerable scholarly debate over the last few years.It was during the administration of President John F. Kennedy that significant programs were initiated to provide federal financial aid for minority students to pursue a college education. "During the early 1960s, the federal government instituted such programs as the National Defense Educational Act (NDEA), the National Defense Student Loan program (NDSL), and work-study programs that made it easier for minority students (especially Blacks) to have the financial support necessary to attend college for the first time in the nations history" (Lang, Barriers to Blacks, p.515). Other programs followed in the mid and late 1960s, such as the Basic Education Opportunity Grants program (BEOG) and the Equal Opportunity Grants (EEOP). Both of these programs provided direct loans or grants to low-income and minority students who qualified for college admissions and enrollment. Because of these programs, these students began to enroll en masse in colleges and universities across the nation. By the mid-1970s the enr...
