A new report from the Lumina Foundation called "Level Up" report showed a steady decrease in enrollment and completion rates among Black students nationally.
Across all sectors, roughly 600,000 Black learners have disappeared from American higher education, and the drastic decline in access and enrollment was seen long before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cassie Tavorn, dean of student support services at South Arkansas Community College in El Dorado, said the school's enrollment has dropped 2% to 4% since the pandemic. She pointed out some students face barriers preventing them from completing community college, as some are nontraditional, work more than one job, have family obligations, or are caregivers.
She added the rising cost of education is also a factor for students.
"We have not increased our tuition for a good five years or more, because we understand our student population," Tavorn noted. "But even with that, most of the funding for college period is for freshmen, for first-year students. So trying to pay for your education beyond that becomes very challenging."
Tavorn emphasized the two-year institution is one of the lowest-cost community colleges in the state, adding the majority of students who graduate are not leaving with a lot of debt because the college offers Pell Grants and scholarships. She also said the school's Career Pathways Initiative helps single parents pay for their tuition, books and day care.
Tavorn explained some first-year students graduate from high school unprepared for college. She added some of the school districts in Arkansas do not have adequate funding to supply early college planning for their students.
She stressed they meet students where they are in life, and provide wraparound services when needed.
"We're making sure that the student, whatever that need is, that need is going to be provided for," Tavorn observed. "We also work ahead of time, put things in place so that they can have a smooth transition."
Tavorn explained the college has already trained its workers on how they need to respond to students when they encounter them on campus. She also pointed out it is important for students to see African American faculty and staff, and schools must also be purposeful in hiring diverse staff members, which she noted could play a critical role in engaging and retaining more Black student learners.
Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.
