atic.
With respect to the foregoing, between the years of 1976 and 1982, full-time enrollment for African American graduate students declined by twenty percent. Despite the continued decrease in the numbers of African American male enrollments, full-time enrollments increased slightly from 1982 to 1992; however, this is mostly due to increased numbers of full-time enrolled African American females (Presley, 1995).
Solorzano (1995) reports that in terms of majors, African-American students are most likely to obtain graduate degrees in the field of education. They are least likely to obtain Master's or doctorate degrees in science or engineering; and of those African American students that obtain advanced degrees in science and engineering, males far outnumber females.
An interesting study of personal characteristics, institutional variables and educational outcomes (program satisfaction, grade point average and degree completion) was conducted by Presley (1995) for first-year African American graduate and professional students enrolled in eight predominantly White universities. Data were collected using questionnaires and institutional transcript records.
Data were analyzed utilizing frequency distributions and chi-square in order to determine the association between the independent and dependent variables. Multiple regression analyses were also conducted to examine the separate and joint relationships of all the independent variables to the dependent variables.
Findings showed that despite males being more satisfied with their programs, females had higher graduate grades and more females obtained their degrees than males. The institutional and program support variables, particularly those involving faculty mentorship and support, were the most significant predictors of program satisfaction, grades, and degree completion.
Based on findings, Presley (1995) concluded that the future of African American participa...