The number of people graduating from college has risen but thenumber of minorities graduating continues to lag behind whitestudents.
The University has seen an increase in the number of studentsgraduating as well as an increase in the number of minoritystudents graduating.
A Census Bureau study, conducted last year, released this springreported an increase in the number of people graduating from highschool and college.
According to a U.S. Census Bureau press release, 27 percent ofadults 25 years and older have a college degree.
Sandy Walker, institutional director of the Office of Budget andPlanning, said graduation rates are measured by the number ofstudents who enter as full-time freshmen and graduate within sixyears.
Currently, the graduation rate for the University is measured at56 percent of students who entered the University in 1996 and 1997.Data for 1998 to 2004 has yet to be recorded.
But Walker said she believes the number of students graduatinghas increased because figures show an increase since the early90s.
She said the increase can be contributed to the rise in thenumber of freshmen the University is admitting.
According to the Office of Budget and Planning Web site, theUniversity accepted 3,361 freshmen in 1990.
In 2003, the University accepted 5,361 freshmen.
The Web site records a steady rise throughout the decade.
Walker also said the increased retention rates of second-yearreturning students could contribute to an increased graduation ratefor students remaining at the University.
In 1990, 79.6 percent of students returned for a second year.While 2003 data is not available, 83.8 percent of students returnedin 2002.
In a June 10 Reveille article, Karen Denby, assistant vicechancellor and dean of enrollment management, said the University’sincreased admissions standards have led to the University having astronger student body.
The University also has seen a rise in the number of graduatingminority students.
According to the Office of Budget and Planning, the number ofgraduating minority students has increased.
The census reported an increase in the number of hispanics andblack students receiving college degrees — both increasing to 30percent and 17 percent respectively.
According to the report, Asian students have the highestgraduation rate of any minority at 50 percent.
According to the Budget and Planning Web site, the Universitydoes seem to follow this trend, except more black students areobtaining bachelor degrees than any other minority group oncampus.
Statistics from the Web site show an increase in the enrollmentof blacks, Hispanics, Asians and American Indians.
Chaunda Allen, program coordinator for the Office of MinorityAffairs, said the change in the University climate possibly has ledto a retention of the number of minority students at theUniversity.
Allen said minority students are starting to see the Universityas a place they can call their own.
The first black student came to the University in the 1950s, shesaid. Since that time the University has created faculty and staffpositions for minorities to work.
She said the pride minorities are developing is leading them tostay at the University after their freshman year.
“LSU is a university they can come to and graduate from,” Allensaid.
She also said the University realizes its minority students cango to other schools, and they are working to retain them.
Allen said she expected numbers for minority students toincrease and expects higher numbers in the future.
But she said there is an existing gap between minority studentsand white students.
Between the summer of 2003 and spring 2004, 4,316 white studentsgraduated from the University, according to the Office of Budgetand Planning. Minorities accounted for 1,375 graduatingstudents.
“There still is a long way to go to even up the gap,” Allensaid. “I think every institution struggles with breaking thegap.”