{"id":10602,"date":"2014-02-20T13:00:53","date_gmt":"2014-02-20T18:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/?p=10602"},"modified":"2014-02-20T13:00:53","modified_gmt":"2014-02-20T18:00:53","slug":"black-male-student-initiative-boosts-retention-graduation-rates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2014\/02\/black-male-student-initiative-boosts-retention-graduation-rates\/","title":{"rendered":"Black male student initiative boosts retention and graduation rates"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>By Shirl S. Gholston, Director of UTC Student Support Services<\/em><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"line-height: 1.5em\">A highly structured program focused on more than success in the classroom is increasing the number of black male graduates at UTC.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Student Support Services (SSS) launched the University\u2019s first-ever black male initiative, Black Males on Campus (BMOCS) in fall 2010 to promote the retention of black male students so that they can succeed and graduate from UTC.\u00a0 Not only does this program focus on success in the classroom, it also addresses social, cultural, emotional, personal and financial issues.\u00a0<!--more--><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2014\/02\/bmocs-scholars-2014.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"675\" height=\"720\" data-attachment-id=\"10610\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2014\/02\/black-male-student-initiative-boosts-retention-graduation-rates\/bmocs-scholars-2014\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2014\/02\/bmocs-scholars-2014.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"675,720\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1392714426&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"bmocs-scholars-2014\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2014\/02\/bmocs-scholars-2014.jpg\" class=\"alignright  wp-image-10610\" alt=\"bmocs-scholars-2014\" src=\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2014\/02\/bmocs-scholars-2014.jpg\" style=\"max-width: 100%;\"style=\"max-width: 100%;\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2014\/02\/bmocs-scholars-2014.jpg 675w, https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2014\/02\/bmocs-scholars-2014-281x300.jpg 281w, https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2014\/02\/bmocs-scholars-2014-187x200.jpg 187w, https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2014\/02\/bmocs-scholars-2014-375x400.jpg 375w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 675px) 100vw, 675px\" \/><\/a>SSS works to \u201cretain and graduate students from diverse and disadvantaged backgrounds at the highest possible rate and foster an academically focused climate supportive of the success of students.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Before BMOCS was created, black males who participated in SSS lagged behind other students in educational attainment.\u00a0 In fact, only 32 percent of black males entering SSS in fall 2002 earned a bachelor\u2019s degree within six years, compared to 63 percent for other SSS students.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI could not accept this distributing trend as a permanent reality and thought that it was time to be responsive and create a program to focus on this subgroup of students,\u201d Shirl S. Gholston, director of Student Support Services said.<\/p>\n<p>BMOCS is modest in size, but the results are impressive. \u00a0By focusing on these young men, the one-year retention rate of black males in SSS increased to 94 percent by fall 2013.\u00a0 During the same period, the six-year graduation rate of black males in SSS dramatically jumped to 74 percent.\u00a0 This group rose from having the lowest retention and graduation rates to achieving the highest retention and graduation rates of the entire SSS student population.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAmong our various activities, the most engaging and transforming have been the monthly rap sessions. These interactions allow for the young men to tackle serious issues specific to their demographic while finding support and empowerment in college as they venture forward with their career goals,\u201d explained Christopher Stokes, who is responsible for the implementation of the initiative and works as the SSS Academic Advisor.<\/p>\n<p>Five young men received $1,000 in the first BMOCS scholarship competition for spring 2014.\u00a0 Criteria for scholarship winners included a cumulative GPA of 2.70 or higher, involvement in BMOCS programming and SSS financial education, and demonstration of leadership skills and volunteer experience.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to the scholarship winners, many other students have been impacted by BMOCS as well.\u00a0 Christopher Whitehead joined BMOCS in 2010 and is on track to graduate in May 2014.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBMOCS is a great way to network with other black men looking to achieve one common goal, success. Confidence is the main thing I got from the experience,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Oluwatosin Ayotunde, a BMOC and SSS tutor, says, \u201cThe program has provided extra opportunities to help me be successful. Anyone who can should take advantage and become a member.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The program also strives to promote the success of BMOCS by building partnerships \u2013it\u2019s a team effort.\u00a0 Black male students are also encouraged by UTC staff, faculty and administrators, as well as community leaders.<\/p>\n<p>Although the initiative addresses issues relevant to black male students, any SSS student may join BMOCS.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A highly structured program focused on more than success in the classroom is increasing the number of black male graduates at UTC. <\/p>\n<p>Student Support Services (SSS) launched the University\u2019s first-ever black male initiative, Black Males on Campus (BMOCS) in fall 2010 to promote the retention of black male students so that they can succeed and graduate from UTC.  Not only does this program focus on success in the classroom, it also addresses social, cultural, emotional, personal and financial issues. <\/p>\n<p class=\"more-link-wrap\"><span><a class=\"more-link button text\" href=\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2014\/02\/black-male-student-initiative-boosts-retention-graduation-rates\/\"><span>Continue Reading <\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":294,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_slider":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_featurette":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[70,15,3,8244,781,7290,661],"tags":[7379],"class_list":{"0":"post-10602","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-academics","7":"category-campus","8":"category-community","9":"category-honors-and-awards","10":"category-scholarship","11":"category-student-servicees","12":"category-students","13":"tag-student-support-services","14":"entry","15":"has-post-thumbnail"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Black male student initiative boosts retention and graduation rates | UTC News Archive: Jul 2007 - Oct 2025<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A highly structured program focused on more than success in the classroom is increasing the number of black male graduates at UTC.   Student Support Services (SSS) launched the University\u2019s first-ever black male initiative, Black Males on Campus (BMOCS) in fall 2010 to promote the retention of black male students so that they can succeed and graduate from UTC. Not only does this program focus on success in the classroom, it also addresses social, cultural, emotional, personal and financial issues.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Black male student initiative boosts retention and graduation rates | UTC News Archive: Jul 2007 - Oct 2025\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A highly structured program focused on more than success in the classroom is increasing the number of black male graduates at UTC.   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