Why Are Minority Men Struggling to Finish Community College?

Very few male students of color graduate with a certificate or degree. A new collaborative policy brief aims to address that problem on a national level. | Video Credit: KPBS

By KPBS

Listen to the full KPBS Midday Edition interview with Luke Wood, associate professor at San Diego State, and Nesha Savage, counselor at San Diego City College.

A recent report found that only 5 percent of black and Latino men earn degrees or certificates at community colleges compared to 32 percent of white men.

Earlier this year, President Barack Obama announced the My Brother’s Keeper initiative, aimed at improving how colleges can address the needs of minority men. One of the research groups compiling data for the initiative is based at San Diego State University.

The Minority Male Community College Collaborative started in 2011 and has become one of the leading research organizations looking at the performance of minority male students in two-year schools.

The organization has collaborated with universities across the country to draft a national policy brief. The new report provides a series of recommendation on how educational institutions can better serve men of color.