Improving African-American Student Success at UIC

Project Sponsors

• Nikos Varelas, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Affairs
• Linda Deanna, AVCSA, Dean of Students

Project Team

• Mark Bennett
• Kiely Fletcher
• Aginah Muhammad
• Jane Rhodes
• Gerald Smith
• Charu Thakral

Project Leads

• Aisha El-Amin
• Jeff Brown

Project Objectives

The goal of this team is to identify and propose programs that have the potential to significantly increase retention and graduation rates of African-American students at UIC, and also have clear and measurable outcomes. The team will consider existing recommendations and data from campus-wide committees such as the Chancellor’s Committee on the Progression and Success of African American Students, UIC programs focused on African American students, as well as best practices at other institutions to put forth recommendations for action.  The benchmarks to fulfill these objectives are as follows:

1. Create a repository of programs that seek to increase retention of African American students at UIC.
2. Determine high impact practices at other institutions that contribute to African American student success.
3. Compare our current programs to the high impact practices, identify successes and consider areas for improvement.
4. Recommend new programs/practices that will impact African American retention and graduation.
5. Implement an assessment mechanism to determine the impact of each program on African American student success.