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Over the last decade, more than two-thirds of four-year, public colleges and universities have
increased graduation rates. Though data shows that there is overall improvement when it comes
to college graduation rates, it does not necessarily mean that the completion gap between
underrepresented minority students (URMs) and white students has been narrowed. As a matter
of fact, the number of white students at selective institutions increase, while blacks and
Hispanics mostly are still found in open-access and community colleges (Fletcher, par. 1).
Several factors contribute to this gap, including race and economics, and may heavily affect the
nation in a matter of years considering the increasing number of the minority population.
However, educational institutions are exerting effort to alleviate the gap, and are expecting close
rates in a matter of years.
According to a study from The Education Trust, from 2003 to 2013, the graduation rates rose
overall among the 255 improving public institutions by 5.3 percent. The underrepresented
minority students, which includes Hispanic, African-American, and Native American, in these
improving institutions increased their graduation rates only slightly higher than that of white
students (6.3 percent versus 5.7 percent). Gains were greatest for Latinos whose graduation rates
increased by 7.4 percent, and for Native Americans with an increase of 6.4 percent. Among
underrepresented students, African-American students showed the least improvement (4.4
percent). Another study conducted by Georgetown University Center on Education and the
Workforce shows that 75 percent of the students at the top 468 colleges are white, while they
only make up 57 percent of the students at open-access schools. On the other hand, black and
Hispanics composes 37 percent of students at open-access schools, and only 15 percent at
selective colleges.

Economic standing, among other causes, is pointed out to be the most crucial factor in the
declining graduation rates among URMs. According to David Laude of the University of Texas,
it is not race, but the social standing of a person which determines whether a student could
graduate or not (Wong, par. 6). Mary Hendrix of Texas A&M-Commerce supports this point by
stating that students who take jobs tend to take lighter course loads, therefore causing a delay in
completing their bachelors degree which would have been accomplished in six years (Anderson,
par. 10).
Contrary to Laude, Amber Magee states that race may also be a possible cause of the decline.
According to Magee, underrepresented students are not targeted for academic opportunities at a
young age, therefore lessening their chance of being accepted into the University of Texas
(Wong, par. 3). In a statement released by Anthony Carnevale, he stated that majority of the
URMs wind up in community colleges in contrast to whites who make up the majority of the
students at selective colleges. With crowded classes and outdated equipment due to
underfunding, those students at community and open-access colleges become less likely to
develop fully or to graduate (Fletcher, par. 9, par. 13, par. 16, par. 18).
This gap, especially among the Latinos, poses a problem to Texas as it has the second largest
Latino population in the United States. Should the declining graduation rate among URMs and
the widening gap be addressed, it would ensure a larger and stronger educated workforce for
Texas in the next twenty years (Heinrich, par. 1). Otherwise, the future societal and workforce
goals of the United States as a whole will be difficult to attain (par. 3).
To address this issue, the University of Texas has taken steps to increase four-year graduation
rates, with the goal of raising the rate to 70 percent by 2016. One of the solutions implemented is
the 360 Connection which aims to increase retention by breaking down the students into smaller

groups (Tahir, par 10). Over the years, it has been observed that those who are involved in those
groups have higher retention rate, and even higher GPAs (par 13). The university also took an
initiative to financially aid promising students in an attempt to address the economic factors of
the declining completion rates (par. 17).