A Case Study Approach To The Impact Of Academic Advising On African American Men At Three Community Colleges In Georgia

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative case study is to examine how African American men at three community colleges in Georgia perceive the academic advising process and how the academic advisor influences their retention. A declining number of African American men are attending and completing college. This trend is troubling not only because of its implications for the men themselves, but also because of the long-term economic, political, and social effects for the African American population. The qualitative case study examined African American men’s views of academic advising, and its impact on their academic persistence and achievement will thus address the problem of declining African American male enrollment in higher education and suggest the services or resources colleges can provide to combat the issue. The researcher used Wood and Harris’s (2014) Socio-Ecological Outcomes Model coupled with Schlossberg’s (1989, 2011) Theory of Marginality to assess student outcomes and how those outcomes affect African American male retention rates. All of the participants chosen for this study were African American male students, attending one of three community colleges in Georgia. There were twelve participants selected for this study. The researcher found that African American male students’ academic advising experiences had a considerable influence on their retention rates at community colleges. The researcher also discovered that poor academic progress, lack of support, from both the institutions and their families, and a lack of positive role models at their prospective institutions often influenced their futures and their retention.