Alecia Watt discusses challenges facing minority college students Watt is the director of educational opportunities at Greenville Tech Share Updated: 6:02 PM EDT Apr 30, 2021 Jane Robelot Watt is the director of educational opportunities at Greenville Tech Share Updated: 6:02 PM EDT Apr 30, 2021 Hide Transcript Show Transcript THAT’S SOMETHING THAT GREENVILLE TECHNICAL COLLEGE RECENTLY DISCOVERED THAT A CERTAIN GROUP OF ITS STUDENTS WAS DEALING WITH AND IT’S ONE EYE-OPENING ISSUE THAT MANY AFRICAN-AMERICAN MEN IN OUR COMMUNITY WRESTLE WITH EVERY DAY IN AN EFFORT TO SUPPORT STUDENTS TECH PRESIDENT DR. KEITH MILLER FORMED THE COMMISSION ON PERSISTENCE AND RETENTION TWO YEARS AGO, DR. ALICIA WATTS SERVED ON THAT COMMISSION. SHE JOINS OUR COMMUNITY CONVERSATION WITH SOME OF THE OF THESE FINDINGS WHICH CAN BENEFIT OUR WHOLE COMMUNITY. THAT OUR AFRICAN-AMERICAN MALES WERE COMING IN AT THE BOTTOM OF EVERY CATEGORY. THEY WERE AT THE BOTTOM OF PERSISTENCE RATES RETENTION RATES AND COMPLETION RATE. WE SAID SURELY THERE MUST BE A CATEGORY WHERE THEY’RE NOT AT THE BOTTOM. SO WE LOOKED AT CORE SUCCESS RATES. WE LOOKED AT ENGLISH 101 AND INTRODUCTORY COLLEGE ALGEBRA, AND THEY WERE STILL COMING IN AT THE BOTTOM. SO WE REALIZED AS A COMMISSION THAT WHATEVER WE TURNED INTO THE PRESIDENT WE WERE GOING TO HAVE TO DO SOMETHING SPECIAL FOR OUR AFRICAN-AMERICAN MALES. WHY IS THAT DID YOU DID YOU COME TO ANY CONCLUSION ABOUT WHY AFRICAN-AMERICAN MALES WERE AT THE BOTTOM OF ALL THESE CATEGORIES? ABSOLUTELY, SO WE DECIDED WE WANTED TO HEAR FROM THE STUDENTS. SO WE CONDUCTED A FOCUS GROUP WITH 10 AFRICAN-AMERICAN MALES FROM ALL DIFFERENT AREAS OF THE COLLEGE ALL DIFFERENT AGE RANGES, AND WE DETERMINED THAT THERE WERE FOUR THINGS THAT EMERGED SO FIRST WAS A SENSE OF BELONGING. BECAUSE A LOT OF TIMES OUR AFRICAN-AMERICAN MALES ARE THE ONLY ONES IN THEIR CLASS. THEY REALLY DID NOT FEEL LIKE THEY BELONGED THAT GREENVILLE TECH. THE SECOND WAS STEREOTYPE THREAT. SO IN THEIR MINDS THEY ARE AFRAID TO ASK QUESTIONS IN CLASS. THEY’RE AFRAID TO ENGAGE WITH THEIR INSTRUCTORS OR THEIR CLASS. BECAUSE THEY HAVE A FEAR OF VERIFYING WHAT THEY THINK YOU THINK ABOUT THEIR GROUP. WELL, YES. SO THAT WAS A VERY HUGE BARRIER THAT WE IDENTIFIED. ANOTHER ONE WAS IT’S REALLY EASY FOR THEM NOT TO HAVE ANY AFRICAN-AMERICAN MALE INSTRUCTORS. AND SO THEY’RE NOT SEEING THEMSELVES INSIDE THE CLASSROOM. THEY’RE NOT SEEING THEMSELVES OUTSIDE OF THE CLASSROOM. AND THAT WAS A HUGE BARRIER. AND THE LAST THEME THAT WE IDENTIFIED WAS THE FACT THAT THEY WANTED TO BE ABLE TO ENGAGE WITH EACH OTHER AND DEVELOP A SENSE OF BROTHERHOOD DR. WATT. LET’S JUST GO BACK FOR A SECOND AND LAND ON THAT STEREOTYPE THREAT FOR JUST A MOMENT. HOW DO YOU GET THESE YOUNG MEN PAST THAT? YES HAVE ADDRESSED THAT ABSOLUTELY THAT IS A VERY REAL THING WITH THEM. SO YOU MAY NOT THINK THAT ABOUT YOUNG AFRICAN-AMERICAN MALES, BUT THEY’RE VERY AWARE OF THE STEREOTYPES THAT EXIST ABOUT THEIR GROUP. SO HE MAY IN HIS MIND THINK THAT YOU THINK THAT HE’S A THUG OR THAT HE’S A DRUG DEALER OR THAT HE’S SOME TYPE OF CRIMINAL OR THAT THE ONLY THING THAT HE CAN DO IS PLAY SPORTS. NOW THAT MAY NOT HAVE EVER CROSSED YOUR MIND. BUT IN HIS MIND HE THINKS THAT THAT’S WHAT YOU THINK. SO THEY WILL NOT ENGAGE. THEY WILL NOT ASK QUESTIONS FOR FEAR OF VERIFYING WHAT THEY THINK YOU THINK HOW DO YOU GET BEYOND THAT? YES, SO IT TAKES A LOT OF INTENSIVE SUPPORT. IT TAKES A LOT OF OPEN CONVERSATIONS ALLOWING THEM TO EXPRESS THEMSELVES AND SAVE SPACES. AND DR. WATT HAS INITIATED A PROGRAM AT GREENVILLE TECH TO ADDRESS EACH ONE OF THOSE ISSUES. IT’S CALLED THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN MALE SCHOLARS INITIATIVE. THEY’RE 100 MEN IN THE PROGRAM RIGHT NOW NOW IN THE 2018-2019 ACADEMIC YEAR THE RETENTION RATE FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN MALE STUDENTS AT THE COLLEGE WAS 42 PERCENT, BUT IN 2020 THE RETENTION RATE FOR THE MEN IN OMSI WAS 56 PERCENT. WE’LL HEAR MORE FROM WHAT DR. WATT AND WHAT THE COMMUNITY CAN DO TO JOIN.