Good news: the nationwide enrollment of black students in college is the highest it has ever been. Bad news: the national graduation rate is still below 50 percent.

This January, the Journal of Blacks in Higher Education (JBHE) found that the average graduation rate, defined as receiving a degree within six years, for black college students has increased four percent over the past three years but currently stands at 43 percent, 20 percentage points below the 63 percent average graduation rate for white college students.

The article also reported that Stanford has the ninth highest black student graduation rate in the nation at 90 percent, five percentage points below its graduation rate for white students and the black student graduation rate at Harvard, the leader nationwide in black graduation.

Associate Prof. of Political Science Luis Fraga, who will be leaving for the University of Washington next fall, pointed out that it makes sense that graduation rates are higher at very selective universities because of the high admission standards.

“The students that are selected have a consistent pattern of success that is likely to be replicated at the university,” Fraga explained.

Tracy Curtis Holmes II, a second-year graduate student in chemical engineering and treasurer of the Black Graduate Student Association (BGSA), agreed.

“Stanford gets a different caliber of students who are already motivated,” he said. “The high graduation rate isn’t really anything Stanford is doing.”

Psychology Prof. Ewart Thomas suggested that because selective schools logically have higher graduation rates compared to the national average, a better judge of how Stanford is doing would be to look at how it compares to other selective schools.

In its report, the JBHE also investigated the black student graduation rates between different types of schools and found that public state schools and historically black colleges and universities (HBCU) were likely to have some of the lowest graduation rates for black students. Of the HBCU, Spelman College has the highest black student graduation rate at 77 percent. Twenty of the HBCU schools, however, have two-thirds or more of black students failing to earn a diploma.

The study discussed several influences on graduation rates, including the racial climate at the school and the size of the black community. The report found that a large black community and a welcoming atmosphere increased the success of the students, while preparation level and family background also impacted student performance.

Fraga noted that looking at statistics for only four-year universities doesn’t show the whole picture, arguing that a large percentage of minority students, especially African-American and Latino students, are enrolled at community colleges.

“Many working-class students think that going to community college is a wise alternative to entering a four-year school because of the lower tuition costs, the flexibility to enroll part-time and the low admission standards,” Fraga explained. “The reality is that many of these students never make it to four-year colleges — only about 20 percent transfer — and have limited opportunities as a result.”

The key to increasing graduation rates and overall student success is recognizing that students from different backgrounds need different kinds of support, Fraga emphasized. Some students need remedial instruction to bring them up to the rigorous level of university classes, while others need increased financial support. Students from working-class families are often expected to contribute to emergency family expenses such as health costs and rent. University financial aid systems often fail to take these additional expenses into account.

Fraga mentioned mentoring and counseling, both in high school and in college, as an important source of support. Holmes said that mentoring undergraduates makes up an important role of the BGSA and advised that schools consider providing programs for freshmen the summer before they enroll to help introduce them to college and increase their preparedness.

Stanford has many support programs in place, such as the Partners for Academic Excellence program, which partners upperclassmen and graduate students with freshmen. Thomas said theme dorms and other programs that specifically target minorities are vital support systems that also help students succeed.