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Lack of African-American undergraduate male student retention: an evaluation study on perspectives from academic advisors

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Running head: AFRICAN-AMERICAN MALE

Copyright 2020 Mario C. McCoy

g head: AFRICAN-AMERICAN MALE 1

Lack of African-American Undergraduate Male Student Retention: An Evaluation
Study on Perspectives from Academic Advisors
By
Mario C. McCoy

A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION
May 2020

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
All praises to God, whether being or energy, none of this would be possible. To
USC and Kelly Bond for giving a young black man from the northside of Milwaukee,
Wisconsin the opportunity to realize this goal of becoming a doctor. Dr. Kathy Stowe,
my chair, your tutelage and giving me the keys to realize an otherwise untapped focus
academically was invaluable. Dr. Canny for motivation and balance, thank you. My
committee members Dr. Robles and Dr. Mora-Flores, thank you both for your guidance,
leadership and challenging me to push the envelope further on my problem of practice.
My academic therapist/student success advisor, Reginald Ryder. You are a resource,
motivator, and leader, and deserve every blessing coming to you.
Cohort 8, the great cohort 8. We have a bond that supersedes this program and I
am glad I have gotten to know and share space with each and every one of you. I wish
you all the best in your future endeavors and keep chasing history. To Charles
Washington, Marlon Gray, Carlos Cruz, Christopher Smith, and Chelsea Hayward, thank
you. Advance, always.
Dr. Liliana Mina, the motivation, the reinforcement. Dr. Susana Muñoz for
watering the doctoral seed. Dr. Edrel Stoneham, ’06. The motivation, the talks, the
resources. Thank you sir. One of my inspirations to do this problem of practice, Lynette
Rivera. I sincerely thank you for challenging an 18-year-old kid in your office to stop
being a knucklehead and focus on school.
To my mother, I thank you for molding me into who I am today, the mere thought
of me making you proud gave me the fuel needed to push through. My pops, the epitome
of hard work, I thank you. My son Story, if it’s one thing I always want you to
remember: Sacrifice Before Success. Ebony, thank you for giving me my greatest

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accomplishment the first term of this program, my son Story. Pop loves you. Both of
your parents are doctors. Pressure, pressure. ☺ I hope this small sacrifice inspires you to
chase history in whatever you choose. Be good and I will give you an extra yoo-hoo now
that pop is done with school. Jonathan, be amazing and a great role model for your little
brother. The village: Tracy, Damitra, Lawrence and Ashia for stepping in and watching
Story while I pushed through school.
NCMPRBL. My creative outlet, my passion that was ignited while advancing
through the OCL program. Create Over Conform.

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ABSTRACT
This analysis used a mixed methods system to evaluate the perspectives of
academic advisors on the lack of African-American male undergraduate student retention
at the University of Sugar Grove. Best practices and student outreach were examined via
academic advisors’ ability to build trustworthy relationships with African-American male
undergraduates. Student success collaborative digital documents were used to triangulate
academic advising approaches and perspectives on African-American male
undergraduate student retention. The findings showed that academic advisors lacked
knowledge about barriers the target demographic face, and lacked the motivation to build
trustworthy relationships via the organizations’ uniform communication approach when
conducting advising sessions. Responses from black males who participated in the
survey indicated that advisors were competent when conducting formative advising
sessions but felt as if they are just a number and were not valued while on campus.
Organizational accountability included addressing racial stereotypes, fostering an
environment for the target demographic to feel safe on campus while addressing racial
stereotypes, and examining campus culture were found to be detrimental towards
academic advisors reaching the stakeholder and organizational goals. Findings
uncovered a need for training seminars highlighting how to improve communication and
collaboration between academic advisors and leadership on how to identify early
indicators that lead to attrition rates of black males who attend Sugar Grove. The
implementation of a multi-faceted long-term plan to enhance organizational effectiveness
can spark potential to steer away from using the uniform communication approach, to a
more forward-thinking, innovative approach to build trustworthy relationships
encouraging African-American male undergraduate student retention.

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Table of Contents
Chapter Page
Chapter 1: Introduction 9
Introduction of the Problem of Practice 9
Organizational Context and Mission 10
Organizational Performance Goal 11
Related Literature 12
Importance of the Evaluation 13
Description of Stakeholder Group 14
Stakeholders’ Performance Goals 15
Stakeholder Group for the Study 15
Purpose of the Project and Questions 16
Methodological Framework 17
Definition of Terms 17
Organization of the Study 18
Chapter 2: Review of the Literature 19
Student Sense of Belonging 19
Culture Shock 20
Meaningful Relationships as Sense of Belonging 22
Clark and Estes Knowledge, Motivation and Organizational Framework 24
Academic Advisors Knowledge, Motivation and Organization Factors 24
Knowledge and Skills 25
Motivation 29
Organization 34
Conceptual Framework 38
Conclusion 44
Chapter 3: Methodology 45
Participating Stakeholders 46
Sampling 47
Data Collection and Instrumentation 48
Credibility and Trustworthiness 52
Validity and Reliability 53
Ethics 53
Limitations and Delimitations 54
Chapter 4: Findings 56
Overview of Purpose and Questions 56
Participating Stakeholders 57
Findings 60
Research Question One 61
Research Question Two 77
Summary 96
Chapter 5: Recommendations 97
Recommendations for Practice to Address KMO Influences 100
Integrated Implementation and Evaluation Plan 115
Limitations and Delimitations 133
Future Research 134
Conclusion 136
References 139

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Appendices
Appendix A: Survey Protocol 153
Appendix B: Interview Protocol 161
Appendix C: Information Sheet for Exempt Research 164

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List of Tables
Table Page
1. Organizational mission, global goal and stakeholder goals 15
2. Knowledge Influence on Stakeholder Goal 28
3. Motivational Influences on Stakeholder Goal 33
4. Organizational Influences 37
5. Academic Advisor Interview Information 59
6. Research Question One Themes 61
7. Research Question Two Themes 78
8. Summary of Organization Themes 95
9. Knowledge, Motivation and Organizational Themes and Recommendations 99
10. Summary of Knowledge Influences and Recommendations 102
11. Summary of Motivation Influences and Recommendations 107
12. Summary of Organization Influences and Recommendations 112
13. Outcomes, Metrics, and Methods for External and Internal Outcomes 118
14. Critical Behaviors, Metrics, Methods, and Timing for Evaluation 120
15. Required Drivers to Support Critical Behaviors 121
16. Evaluation Methods and proposed timing 126
17. Methods and Tools and Timing 128
18. Academic Advisor Engagement Evaluation 131

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List of Figures
Figure Page
1. Retention 39
2. How old were you when you were first accepted into college? 57
3. What was your classification (grade level) when you enrolled? 58
4. My level of comfort of discussing my grades with my academic advisor 66
5. My Advisor helps me to express my feelings 67
6. I feel my advisor clearly communicates my responsibility in my own success 70
7. My advisor helps me to navigate the stressors that come with attending college 71
8. My advisor is culturally competent 73
9. My level of comfort of discussing personal issues that affect my studies with my
academic advisor 74
10. My advisor helps me to better understand campus 80
11. My advisor is genuinely interested in my success 85

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CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
The black male graduation rate is 34% compared to their white male counterparts
at 55 percent over a six-year period (Kena et al., 2015; Wood, 2014). Harper and Harris
(2012) assess that black men hold the lowest college completion rate among both genders
and all racial/ethnic groups in higher education in the United States. College completion
continues to vary based on institutional challenges, socio-economic status, race/ethnicity,
and other demographic characteristics for African-American male students (Means et al.,
2016). Although there are multiple factors that impact the successful transition to higher
education amongst African-American males, being away from home or familiar
surroundings, the financial burden of paying for school and books along with the
temptations and freedom of adult responsibilities, make such a transition more
challenging. As a result, most institutions understand that this population is at risk
(Strayhorn, 2007; Smith, 2009). African-American male collegians often are
overwhelmed by the academic rigor of courses and insufficiently prepared to meet
institutions expectations (Harper, 2009). Institutional expectations include adjusting to
the collegiate environment, increased demand of study hours and time management
skills, and consistent outreach to professors to address any academic concerns.
Relatedly, addressing institutional integration variables with assigned academic advisors
is crucial to uncover early-indicator issues that can affect retention rates of African-
American males.
Institutional integration variables (e.g., academic and social integration) play an
essential role in GPA achievement and retention of African-American males (Reid, 2013;
Boyraz, Horne, Owens and Armstrong, 2013). The result is often that black male
students tend to perform at lower levels and drop out of school at higher rates than

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students who attend higher tiered institutions, thus negatively impacting retention
(Naylor, Wyatt-Nichol & Brown, 2013). The American College Testing (ACT) 2012’s
annual report affirms that first-to-second year retention rates ranged from 65.2% to
80.2% among four-year institutions (Boyraz et al, 2013; ACT, INC., 2012). Based on
retention data, the adjustment to rigor of assignments and development of proper study
skills in the first year is critical to continued African-American male student enrollment.
Tinto (1975, 1993) interaction list model of student departure suggests that student
persistence and retention are greatly determined by students’ precollege characteristics
(e.g., family back-ground, academic preparedness, and prior skills and abilities) as well
as experiences in college. Therefore, it is important to examine the possible contributing
factors that impact this particular group and why there is a dearth in the previously
mentioned graduation rate of 34% when compared to non-African-American
counterparts.
Organizational Context and Mission
Sugar Grove College (SG, Sugar Grove; pseudonym) is a state-assisted public,
comprehensive land grant higher education institution. According to Spring 2018
enrollment data (SCG, 2019) The institution serves 7,400 undergraduate students, houses
a student demographic starting at 18 years old (SCG, 2018) and has a total enrollment of
8,470 students. Sugar Grove’s mission statement is to obtain excellence and relevance in
teaching, research, and service. It is located in Houston, Texas. Sugar Grove is
comprised of 20 student affairs professionals, and its undergraduate student ethnicity is
comprised of 99 white students, 5,673 black students, 582 Hispanic students, seven
Hawaiian/Pacific Island students, 113 Asian students, and 112 other/multiple/ unknown
students. The age range is from 18 to 50+ with 73.3% under the age of 20, 14.5%

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between the ages of 20-24, 5.8% between the ages of 25-29, 4.2% between the ages of
30-39, 0.8% between the ages of 40-49.
Sugar Grove utilizes a traditional grading system using letter grades from A-F,
used concurrently with percentages to create student class grades. Students have access to
grades and advisor notes via Student Success Collaborative (SSC) software. Upon
enrollment, students are required to meet with academic advisors to review classes
completed and remaining classes before graduating. Each semester before final exams,
students are strongly encouraged to meet with assigned advisors to review grade point
average (GPA) and collaboratively complete a degree plan showing prerequisites needed
to enroll in upcoming classes. Post final exams, students receive final grades from
professors to create a semester GPA shown in the SSC.
Organizational Performance Goal
The organizational performance goal focuses on the knowledge, motivational, and
organizational influences on Sugar Grove’s Department of Technology (DoT;
pseudonym). The organizational global performance goal that by December 2021, the
percentage of African-American male student retention will increase from its current
status of 54% to 90%. The Director of Student Affairs established the goal after meeting
with Associate Deans and the Dean of Student Services in fall of 2017 after reviewing the
total number (570) of enrolled African-American students, specifically, males. The
achievement of SG’s goal will be measured by the results of advising-student meeting
data presented through December of 2021. In order to reach this goal, senior leadership
is accountable to give academic advisors the tools needed to cultivate trustworthy
relationships with assigned African-American male students. This includes but not
limited to implementing an improved structure of advising practices specifically targeting

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African-American male undergraduate students via becoming knowledgeable of barriers
that this demographic faces while attending college, and fostering an environment to
assist them in adjusting to collegiate life at Sugar Grove.
Related Literature
This section provides a brief overview of existing literature that supports the
existence of a problem of African-American male student retention. Tinto (1999) states
retention as the condition of keeping, focusing on maintaining several factors, including a
welcoming environment, high member morale, and organizational processes. Issues
related to retention often into three categories: (a) social-emotional needs expressed by
students, as well as with classmates and teachers (Harmon, 2002); (b) concerns expressed
by culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) families regarding happiness and belonging
(Bourte, 1992; Huff et al., 2005); and (c) students performing at acceptable achievement
levels (Ford, 1996).
Brooms and Davis (2017) affirm that focusing on how African-American males
experience college and what they experience, both impact retention and effort. Research
has noted how race and gender create stressors for Black male students (Bridges, 2011;
Mutua, 2006; Neville et al., 2004) and how it affects retention. Bridges (2011) argues
that self-awareness and self-understanding are critical for black males in college,
including understanding of the history of African-Americans both at the collegiate level
and larger U.S. society. In assessing the challenges of educating black males within U.S.
society, Jenkins (2006) argues that often black men are often treated with a “niggardly”
regard, which positions them at the lower rungs of society and experience
underachievement in all aspects of life. Smiley and Fakunle (2016) highlight the
synonymous conjecture of Blackness with criminality within the United States and argues

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that the negative imagery of Black males (e.g., “brute” and “thug”) is used as justification
for allegation of criminal behavior and racial profiling. Broom and Davis (2017) affirm
that given the range of challenges that Black males face across various social institutions,
providing space for the students to make connections and have meaningful interactions
with faculty and staff, ultimately can enhance their collegiate experiences.
Importance of the Evaluation
The lack of African-American male student retention is an important problem to
evaluate in relation to the performance goal for a variety of reasons. Carey (2004)
affirms people of color are projected to comprise over 57% of the U.S. population by the
year 2060 and tumultuous experiences such as systemic racial inequities coupled with
demographic shifts, will lead to severe economic and social challenges for larger society
if the lack of black males persisting in higher education goes unaddressed (U.S. Census
Bureau, 2012). Consistent with the above research demonstrating the benefits of building
strong relationships with faculty, advising staff inspires the underserved population to
persist. Broom and Davis (2017) suggest that adjusting to social and cultural
environments on campus is identified as central to black students’ success. Moreover,
success for Black males’ hinges on a myriad of critical factors including faculty
relationships, identity development, and institutional environment (Bonner & Bailey,
2006; Brooms, 2016, 2017; Brooms, Goodman & Clark, 2015; Palmer et al., 2014).
Strayhorn (2017) mentions the importance of hard work and perseverance, dispelling any
myths that assume “natural talent” or “sheer genius” over sustained effort. Students who
perform well in high school also do well academically, but 12.9% of Black males have a
college degree compared to 22.3% of white males (Strayhorn, 2008; Naylor, Wyatt-
Nichol & Brown, 2015). Based on the statistics and evidence previously mentioned,

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retention among African-American males attending higher education institutions presents
a higher level of urgency that is imperative to be examined, compared to their
counterparts of other racial/ethnic backgrounds.
Description of Stakeholder Group
Sugar Grove stakeholders include Academic Advisors, Director of Academic
Advising, Department Dean(s) and African-American Male Undergraduate Students.
Academic Advisors are the stakeholders that have a consistent influence on the problem
of practice African-American male student retention however, advisors place a higher
priority on advising opposed to the efficacy needed to ensure the target demographics’
student success. Moreover, senior leadership, including Director of Student Affairs and
Department Deans have a vested intrigue of student success as retention is viewed as a
prominent fixture for consistent success within the college. African-American male
students who represent the following categories: Transfer Students, First Time in College
Students, and students on academic probation and senior leadership, are instrumental as
stakeholders. African-American male students are deemed instrumental as stakeholders
because their consistent, individual experiences with academic advisors have an impact
on retention. As a result, this study will primarily focus on academic advisors’ evaluation
of the lack of African-American male student retention. For purposes of this study,
academic advisors hold the highest priority as stakeholders due to having the most
consistent interaction with African-American male students compared to other student
affairs professionals. Senior leadership professionals are accountable for contributing to
meetings with advisors via documenting areas of concern while fostering genuine,
trustworthy relationships with all students assigned in the previous categories.

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Stakeholders’ Performance Goals
Table 1
Organizational mission, global goal and stakeholder goals
Organizational Mission
The mission of Sugar Grove is to obtain excellence and relevance in teaching,
research and service.
Organizational Performance Goal
By December of 2021, Sugar Grove’s goal is to attain 90% student retention for
African-American males.
Stakeholder 1 Goal
Senior Level
Leadership
Stakeholder 2 Goal
Academic Advisors
Stakeholder 3
Goal
Student
By August 2019, Director of
Student Affairs and Associate
Dean will implement an
outreach plan for academic
advisors to contact all
African-American male
students to discuss retention
goals.
By October 16, 2019,
Academic Advisors will
follow up with African-
American male students
initially contacted to
evaluate semester retention
in all classes.
By December of 2021,
Sugar Grove will have
90 percent student
retention for African-
American male students
enrolled

Stakeholder Group for the Study
Although a complete analysis of the goal of retention would involve a study
including all stakeholders, for practical purposes, this study will focus on the Academic
Advisors and their assigned duties relative to the proposed organizational performance
goal of 90 percent student retention of African-American males. For practical purposes
this study will focus on the Academic Advisors and their assigned duties relative to their
performance goal. The stakeholders’ goal in conjunction with the Director Student
Affairs and Dean(s), is that all academic advisors will adhere to an outreach plan to

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contact all prospective students at new student/transfer orientation, continuing students
prior to the start of the upcoming semester, progression plan(s) at the mid-point of the
semester and evaluation of productivity at the end of the semester. All communication
will be documented via the Student Success Collaborative (SSC) online tracking system.
Failure to reach this goal will lead to more students placed on academic probation and
potentially increase attrition rates. Academic advisors who are noncompliant will lead to
budget cuts that negatively impact and potentially downsize faculty/staff positions,
ultimately affecting the allocation of educational resources and graduation rates.
Purpose of the Project and Questions
The purpose of this project is to conduct a gap analysis to evaluate the knowledge,
motivation, and organizational influences that directly interfere with academic advisors’
engagement with achieving the stakeholder goal. The analysis will begin by developing a
list of early indicators and negative influences that will be examined systematically to
uncover and validate inferences. While a complete gap analysis would focus on all
stakeholders, the stakeholder focused on this analysis will be the Academic Advisors.
Questions one and two will guide this study, as findings from the former will be
presented as recommendations for data gathered from question one and two.
To determine the correct knowledge, motivational, and organizational influences
that guide the following research questions:
1. What are the Academic Advisors’ knowledge and motivation related to
increasing African-American (used interchangeably with Black) male student retention to
90 percent at Sugar Grove University

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2. What is the interaction between the institutions’ culture and context and
academic advisors’ knowledge and motivation in achieving 90 percent African-American
male student retention?
Methodological Framework
Clark and Estes (2008) gap analysis was chosen for the evaluation model and
used as the conceptual framework. The method provides an explanation of
organizational goals and highlights the knowledge, motivation and organizational
influences within Sugar Grove. The methodological framework is an exploratory
sequential mixed method data gathering analysis. This analysis will be conducted to
evaluate Sugar Grove’s Academic Advisors current performance in relation to the
performance goal, knowledge, motivation and organizational elements. Academic
Advisors’ current performance will be validated via surveys from assigned African-
American male students, interviews, literature review, and content analysis. Interviews
with Academic Advisors will be held at Sugar Grove’s campus. Research-based
solutions will be recommended and evaluated in a comprehensive manner.
Definitions of Terms
The following definitions are provided to ensure clarity and consistency of the
terms used throughout this study:
Academic Advisors: Student Affairs Professionals who counsel enrolled students
in myriad of topics including class enrollment, campus resources, career services, job
placement and enrollment services for financial aid training and literacy.
Academic Advising Center/Department of Technology: Core area where students
receive counseling from assigned academic advisors in given major.

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Attrition: A term used for students who voluntarily or involuntarily choose to
drop classes or not continue enrollment in higher education studies.
Retention: A term used interchangeably with “persistence” used for students who
continue pursuing higher education studies at current institution from semester-to-
semester.
Organization of the Study
Five chapters are used to organize this study. This chapter provided the reader
with the key concepts and terminology commonly used in discussions about African-
American male student retention. The institutions’ mission, goals, and stakeholders,
along with the initial concepts of gap analysis, were introduced. Chapter two provides a
review of current literature surrounding the scope of the study including student sense of
belonging, culture shock, and meaning relationships as a result of sense of belonging.
Chapter three details the assumed causes of this study as well as methodology when it
comes to participants, data collection, and analysis. In chapter four, the data and results
are assessed and analyzed. Chapter five provides solutions, based on data and literature,
for closing the perceived gaps as well as recommendations for an implementation and
evaluation plan for the solutions.

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CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
This chapter will outline the literature highlighting the lack of African-American
male student retention. The chapter begins with an overview of the student sense of
belonging at it relates to African-American male undergraduate student retention. This
will be followed by the culture shock of challenges and barriers African-American males
face while enrolled in college and closes with meaningful relationships as a sense of
belonging. Although the literature presented has been applied to a variety of contexts,
each of these domains is reviewed to examine what academic advisors need to know
about African-American male students to positively impact student retention. Following
the general research literature, the review will continue into the knowledge, motivation
and organizational influences and Gap analytic conceptual framework from Clark &
Estes on advisors’ using their expertise to evaluate the lack of African-American male
student retention. As a result, approaches will be recommended to meet the
organizational goal of increasing African-American male undergraduate student retention
to 90 percent.
Student Sense of Belonging
African-American male college students’ sense of belonging hinges in large part
upon interacting with peers from different racial/ethnic groups (Strayhorn, 2008).
Furthermore, African-American male collegians who experience social growth while
enrolled in predominantly white institutions function to achieve high levels of social
development, institution involvement, and overall academic success (Strayhorn, 2008).
African-American male students who are provided opportunities to develop relationships
with races and ethnicities whom they may not have previously socialized with prior to
attending college is better prepared to adjust to the culture shock that comes with being

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immersed in a diverse student climate (Strayhorn, 2008). The lack of social etiquette
with fellow students who are of different ethnicities a key indicator for potential attrition.
Developing improved social skills while enrolled in college is a positive indicator
to combat attrition for African-American males. Strayhorn (2008) states although black
males are unlikely to find supportive relationships outside their same-race peer groups,
they need them to achieve high levels of satisfaction with their college experiences. This
is important due to the lack of satisfaction, institutional control, selectivity, campus racial
composition, and ethos on campus, which, in turn, influences the experiences of Black
students (Allen, 1992; Hirt, 2006). As a result of said influences, academic advisors must
be aware of how the student sense of belonging plays a key role in retention as
experiencing the initial culture shock of co-existing with other races.
Culture Shock
Engagement problems with fellow collegians of different ethnic backgrounds can
be attributed to the culture shock black males endure while attending higher education.
The Black male engagement problem has been a topic of discussion among
administrators at national higher education conferences for over a decade (Schmidt,
2008). Forming close relationships while enrolled in college help to provide the social
connections and outlets that black male students need to make friends, hang out, party,
and feel a sense of belonging.
It is important for African-American male collegians to become, at the very least,
familiar with culture shock while attending college. Strayhorn (2015) affirms that
students must feel comfortable dialoguing about critical issues such as cultural
incongruity, an uneasiness to negotiate or straddle multiple cultures needed to acclimate
to a new environment, or to develop the skills necessary for cultural navigation. This is a

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significant part of the analysis as Strayhorn (2015) affirms that academic advisors and
staff act as a navigation tool to make students aware of the culture of the institution such
as codes of conduct, customs, dominant values, requirements, rules and traditions.
African-American male students, who are not engaged academically,
underperform due to a lack of self-efficacy because of the experiential realities (Harper,
2008). According to Harper (2008), the factors that diminish student confidence at their
institution stems from being unable to successfully navigate their campus and not
intrinsically feeling a sense of belonging. This concept puts into focus that student
success is no longer being merely defined by the individual as mentorship resulting from
sense of belonging, is one of the contributing factors to degree completion for African-
American male college students (Harper, 2006; Strayhorn, 2017). An example of this is
oftentimes after being rejected by or experiencing hostility from white counterparts, in
and out of class, many black males experience denigration and may choose to disengage
from the campus community (Broom & Davis, 2017), thus eliminating the relationship
between student and advisor.
Another challenge relative to culture shock is the common misperception that all
black male students are the same. Harper (2008) highlights the inability of white persons
on campuses to recognize the different cultural backgrounds of black male students. This
lack of social awareness is detrimental in African-American male student retention when
looking to establish themselves academically. Harper and Nichols (2008) reports that two
groups in particular, Black fraternity members and Black male student-athletes, were
especially vulnerable to stereotypes and misperceptions. Despite historical significance
and the positive impact that Black Greek-Lettered Organizations (BGLOs) have long
brought to collegiate campuses, the misperceptions of black student stereotypes of being

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violent, confrontational, and primarily attend higher education institutions due to athletic
scholarships and/or receiving financial assistance via grants (Strayhorn, 2010). Students
also have to battle these preconceived notions limit engagement with other ethnic
backgrounds and staff. As a result of culture shock, the inability to navigate through
different cultural norms, makes retention challenging for black male students.
Consequently, black male students who feel uncomfortable discussing culture shocks
with academic advisors due to lack of relationships, negatively impacts their collegiate
experience, ultimately increasing attrition.
Meaningful Relationships as Sense of Belonging
A crucial component of African-American male student persistence includes
meaningful relationships with staff who have experience working with the demographic.
Black males’ academic success, or lack thereof, can be traced from meaningful
interactions with university officials (Harper, 2006; Strayhorn, 2008). The need for a
successful advising-student relationship is necessary when black men struggle after
stepping foot on a collegiate campus. Many black males seek comfort and academic
support within their micro-communities (Brooms, 2017; Harper, 2009), and without
connection to resources, information, and people who can help supply strategies for
negotiating these different cultures, black male students are at risk for failure (Strayhorn,
2015). Developing relationships with staff helps to ease the grief of transitioning
between colleges, adapting to a new collegiate environment and meet the expectations
that come with attending higher education institutions. African-American male students
need relationships with professionals who are well-educated, experienced, and equipped
with cultural proficiency. The ability to foster higher-order academic behavior and push

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students to be critical thinkers (Tsoi-A-Fatt Bryant, 2015) via development of meaningful
relationships is key to building a sense of belonging in higher education.
Successfully navigating an institution of higher education comes with the ability
to successfully engage with administration. Black males attending college attribute
success to the availability of strong supportive relationships with academic advisors and
staff that provide resources such as tutoring, mentoring and working to solve engagement
problems that come with transitioning to higher education (Strayhorn, 2017). Wood &
Turner (2010) affirm that administrators must work actively to encourage the hiring,
retention, and promotion of staff members who are willing to be accountable to stay
abreast and educated regarding the cultural implications of African-American male
collegians. Based on the literature, staff are accountable in finding ways to reach
African-American males based on racial and cultural concerns. Racial tension and
discrimination create a hostile environment where students are less likely to devote time
to campus activities and studying, take longer to complete their degrees, or drop out
altogether (Strayhorn, 2013).
Academic advisors maintaining positive interactions with African-American male
students are imperative in order to diffuse racial tension and to encourage retention
(Beckles, 2008). An example of academic advisors showing investment in black male
students includes sponsoring workshops that stress the importance of sustaining effort
towards particular goals (e.g., increased self-efficacy, good grades) (Strayhorn, 2017).
Academic advisors who make themselves available to speak with students outside of
normal office hours, and have ongoing interactions, places this population in positions for
academic success (Pellegrino et al., 2015). Meaningful interaction between staff and
African-American male students has proven to be invaluable in black males’ academic

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and social development and coping as the staff’s presence significantly enriches the
campus climate by providing a sense of comfort. (Brooms & Davis, 2017).
Clark and Estes’ (2008) Knowledge, Motivation and Organizational Influences
Framework
Clark and Estes (2008) affirm a systematic, analytic framework highlighting
organizational and stakeholder performance goals. The authors also identify the gap
between the present performance level and the proposed performance goal. According to
Krathwohl (2002) the knowledge types are: Factual; described as discrete, isolated
content elements, Conceptual; described as classifications, principles, theories, models or
structures, Procedural; how to do something- skills that are involved in creating, and
Metacognitive; being self-aware of one’s own cognition. The former mentions are
driving principles used to determine if advisors are equipped to reach the proposed
performance goal. Motivational elements, as described by Mayer (2011) defines
motivation as an internal state that initiates and maintains goal-directed behavior.
Organizational influences are concluded by Clark and Estes (2008) who affirm the
inclusion of resources, work processes, and workplace culture.
Academic Advisors Knowledge, Motivation and Organization Factors
The categories and information given will assist in providing the correct
methodology needed to assess the knowledge, motivation and organizational influences
needed to successfully evaluate the lack of African-American Male student retention to
reach 90 percent by December 2021. Clark and Estes (2008) affirm that knowledge and
skills are required for job performance. The first section will uncover knowledge
influences on the stakeholder performance goal after introducing the knowledge and
skills contexts. Possible motivational influences on how to attain the proposed

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stakeholder goal will follow the previously mentioned. In closing, the uncovering of
possible organizational achievement that directly impact academic advisors achieving the
stakeholder goal. The former potential stakeholder knowledge, motivation, and
organizational influences on performance will be examined via the assigned methodology
discussed in Chapter three.
Knowledge and Skills
This section will focus on knowledge-related influences important to the
organizational goal of attaining 90 percent African-American male undergraduate student
retention. In order for Sugar Grove to achieve the proposed organizational goal,
academic advisors should be knowledgeable of the lack of African-American male
undergraduate student retention. As academic advisors are the primary stakeholders in
this analysis, understanding organizational approaches and practices relating to student
outreach, mastering effective communication with both department leadership and the
target demographic, and proper reflection on advising practices, is necessary. For the
former to happen, academic advisors having opportunities for both professional
development addressing said topics, along with visibility and input in a diverse student
affairs professional staff setting is important. Literature review will highlight specific
areas of knowledge pertaining to academic advisors building trustworthy relationships
with African-American male undergraduate students.
Knowledge influences. Clark and Estes (2008) acknowledge that knowledge and
skills are applicable under two conditions: not knowing how to meet or exceed
performance goals and the anticipation of future challenges that requires a higher level of
strategic examination of existing knowledge and influences needed to frame research. In
order for academic advisors to apply the Clark and Estes (2008) conceptual framework to

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investigate current performance related to the stakeholder goal, an in-depth review of
knowledge influences in relation to reaching the proposed goal is needed. According to
Krathwohl (2002) the knowledge types are: factual; described as discrete, isolated content
elements, conceptual; described as classifications, principles, theories, models or
structures, procedural; how to do something- skills that are involved in creating, and
metacognitive; being self-aware of one’s own cognition. The information given will
assist in identifying influences and provide the methodology needed to assess the
knowledge gaps of increased attrition causes among African-American Male students.
Based on the literature review, academic advisors will learn the components needed to
recognize early indicators that can deter African-American Male student retention via
three knowledge influences, followed by a table representing the categories of knowledge
types.
Familiarity with African-American male student backgrounds. In order to
accomplish the stakeholder goal, academic advisors need to know the backgrounds and
challenges that African-American students face. Strayhorn (2015) explains that racial
and ethnic minority male students now make up a significant proportion of the
undergraduate student population. The importance of academic advisors having the
knowledge of early indicators that have the potential to increase attrition rates, gives the
opportunity to intervene in the event students’ interests change or lack a sense of
belonging. Strayhorn (2013) affirms that one-third of all black men who enter higher
education leave before completing their degree—typically referred to as “attrition” or
“dropout”. Academic Advisors who are aware of the challenges that black male students
face both in and outside of the classroom, play defining roles in attrition rates, and
continuity. Strayhorn (2008) identifies that some African-American male students find it

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rewarding to establish meaningful relationships with staff that have knowledge of their
background prior to attending college. As a result of creating trustworthy relationships,
when said challenges come to fruition while in college, students typically come to
academic advisors as a first point of contact due to them being more knowledgeable.
This knowledge influence is categorized under conceptual as academic advisors are to be
knowledgeable on the challenges AA (African-American) male students face with
retention.
Reflect on Own Advising Practices. The second knowledge influence for
stakeholders to achieve their performance goal is to self-reflect on their own advising
practices. Strategically and proactively providing empowerment to academic advisors
provides them the space to reflect on their own processes (Gaskell and Dickinson, 2012;
Morgan, 2012; Shah, 2013). This is significant due to becoming knowledgeable about
advising approaches requiring areas of opportunity, to increase the chance of meeting the
proposed stakeholder goal. Moreover, highlighting areas where help on relationship-
building with the target demographic via their own individual style of outreach is needed.
Table 2 illustrates an overview of the knowledge influences of Academic Advisors
accountability towards African-American Male student retention via the organization’s
mission and goals, and applicable knowledge types.

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Table 2
Knowledge Influence on Stakeholder Goal
Organizational Mission
Sugar Grove’s mission statement is to achieve excellence and relevance in teaching,
research and service.

Organizational Global Goal
By December of 2021, Sugar Grove’s goal is to reach 90% student retention for African-
American males.
Stakeholder Goal
By October 2019, Academic Advisors will reach 100% compliance of African-American
male student outreach to follow up with assigned students initially contacted in August 2019 to
evaluate semester progression in all classes.
Knowledge Influences Knowledge Type
Academic Advisors need to know the challenges
African-American male undergraduate students
face with persistence
Declarative
Academic Advisors need to reflect on their own
advising processes to determine areas of
improvement
Metacognitive

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Motivation
Evaluating academic advisors’ levels of motivation in relation to achieving the
proposed stakeholder goal is crucial. Mayer (2011) defines motivation as an internal
state that initiates and maintains goal-directed behavior. Clark and Estes (2008) identify
three core elements of motivation: active choice, persistence, and mental effort. The
authors define active choice as to when the intention to pursue is replaced by action,
persistence as continuing in the face of distractions, and mental effort as being intentional
with one’s attention. Mayer (2011) suggests that motivation is influenced by five
concepts: interest: working harder to accomplish tasks that have personal value, beliefs:
working harder when one believes work will pay off, attributions: to the extent to which
one attributes their success and failure to level of effort, goals: setting goals to master or
accomplish a task, and finally, partnership: working harder along with social partners.
Although there are many theories and facets of motivation, two motivational
theoretical frameworks; self-efficacy and expectancy-value - are the most relevant to the
issue discussed in this paper, the application of both theories will be used to assess
stakeholder motivational levels to achieve the proposed performance goal, will be
highlighted in the upcoming section. Followed by a table representing the categories of
knowledge types. The information given will assist in determining the correct
methodology needed to identify any motivational gaps.
Self-Efficacy Theory
The first motivational influence that is relevant to the stakeholder performance
goal is self-efficacy. By definition, self-efficacy refers to an individual's belief in his or
her capacity to execute behaviors necessary to successfully complete a task (Bandura,
1977, 1995; Locke, 1987). Wood, Newman & Harris (2015) explain that self-efficacy

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explains what increases one’s mental effort towards their own abilities when attempting
to master a task. Furthermore, the higher that one’s self-efficacy is, the more confidence
one gains to remain motivated to persist. Self-efficacy is crucial when examining what
advisors can provide to students in order to help reach the proposed performance goal.
Self-Efficacy applies to academic advisors feeling confident in their ability to
directly impact African-American male student belonging. Wood, Newman & Harris,
(2015) and Hsieh, Sullivan & Guerra, (2007) note that higher levels of self-efficacy have
been shown to reduce stress and anxiety, enhance socio-cultural adjustment, increase
satisfaction, improve writing-grammar performance ability, support the development of
challenging goals, and advance individual’s pursuit of personal development. Academic
Advisors must know how to effectively communicate their needs where applicable to feel
efficacious enough to contribute to the proposed stakeholder performance goal. Key
tenets that can affect self-efficacy include stress and anxiety that comes with being
accountable for obtaining consistent productivity. Academic advisors are to understand
the above knowledge to obtain applicable resources to help alleviate any apprehension
that can impede motivation. Pellegrino et al. (2015) point out that academic advising
proves to be a significant motivational factor in student persistence, retention, and
graduation efforts. This is significant as academic advisors will need to feel efficacious
to meet the task of leading African-American Male students to persist via consistent
outreach.
Expectancy Value Theory
By definition, Expectancy Value Theory is when a person can do a task and wants
to do a task, and is a strong predictor of persistence, mental effort and performance once
a choice has been made to complete a task (Clark & Estes, 2008). Academic advisors are

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expected to maintain a high level of motivation to complete the assigned task of
consistent student outreach. Academic Advisors maintaining the motivation is
imperative, as they will be expected to serve stakeholders within the college while aiming
to achieve the proposed performance goal -practices which include recruitment,
orientations, professional development, supervision, and reward (Pellegrino, 2002).
Eccles (2006) notes fundamental motivational questions such as “Can I do the
task” and “Do I want to do the task”? while “can I do”, looks at expectancy. The
expectancy to achieve the goal, time allocation, etc. “do I want to do the task” as it relates
to the stakeholder performance goal, squarely views value. This is significant due to
stakeholders being cognizant of their value when completing assigned tasks and
consistent outreach to all assigned African-American male students.
Eccles (2006) clarifies the attainment dimension of the framework as a link
between tasks and a person’s self-image. If advisors see their self-image reflected in the
task(s) given for them to complete, then motivation increases. Advisors need to
understand the defining roles of their day-to-day operations include constant engagement
with African-American male students. Per the assertion, if the advisor’s career goals
reflect uplifting and empowerment of African-American male students, the value of
student outreach will deem more motivational for advisors to attain the proposed
stakeholder performance goal.
Attainment value will be used for this study. The focus on attainment will
uncover stakeholders’ individual motivation to use the proposed stakeholder goal to align
with their sense of identity as an advisor. Eccles (2006) describes identity and preference
as components of attainment value. This is significant to the proposed goal due to

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academic advisors having the opportunity to communicate a vision that best reflects and
aligns their motivation to successfully attain the proposed stakeholder goal.
Advisors play a prominent role in student development, and although mutual
relationships between students factor into success, their value to complete tasks are
important. Stakeholder motivation, as outlined by Pellegrino et al., (2015) includes: A
common mission and role expectation for advisors across the institution; an institutional
approach to professional development and recognition of academic advisors; Dual foci of
student relationships and institutional advocacy by academic advisors for student
development needs; Mutual relationships existing between individual students and staff.
Maintaining a balance between exerting energy and maximizing time
management when completing student outreach it is necessary for advisors to remain
motivated to achieve the proposed stakeholder performance goal. Table 3 illustrates an
overview of two of the motivational influences used by academic advisors, and how the
motivational types assigned to assess the motivational gaps’ impact on the overall
mission of Sugar Grove, organizational and stakeholder goals.

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Table 3
Motivational Influences on Stakeholder Goal
Organizational Mission
Sugar Grove’s mission statement is to achieve excellence and relevance in teaching,
research and service.

Organizational Global Goal
By December of 2021, Sugar Grove’s goal is to reach 90% student retention for African-
American males.
Stakeholder Goal
By October 2019, Academic Advisors will reach 100% compliance of academic advising
student outreach to follow up with assigned African-American male students initially contacted in
August 2019 to evaluate semester progression in all classes.
Motivation Influences Motivational Type

Self-efficacy- Academic Advisors need to feel
confident in their ability to directly impact
African-American male undergraduate student
belonging
Interview
Expectancy Value- Academic Advisors need to
value how their role directly impacts African-
American male undergraduate student retention
Interview

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Organization
The organizational mission of Sugar Grove - to achieve excellence and relevance
in teaching, research and service - serves as an overarching theme, matriculating down
through its culture. Organizational culture refers to the values and beliefs that provide
norms of expected behavior that employees might follow (Schein, 1992). Cultural
settings are established rules adhered to by professionals while integrating
responsibilities, the reasons for them being bestowed, and facilitates work performance.
Lastly, cultural model as stated by Gallimore & Goldenberg (2001) refers to cultural
practices and shared mental schema within an organization. The following sections will
explore the cultural model and setting that make-up Sugar Grove’s stakeholder
influences.
Examining campus culture. Clark and Estes (2008) describe culture as a way to
describe core values, goals, beliefs, and processes learned as people develop over time.
While there are access policies that take steps towards providing for equal opportunity of
access to higher education, there is little room for participation in the campus culture of
predominantly white institutions (Bourke, 2011). Due to the former, examining campus
diversity as it relates to campus culture at a deeper level, becomes a means to an end
rather than merely an end in of itself (Bourke, 2011). To strengthen organizational
structure and influence, reviewing how the campus culture impacts African-American
male undergraduate students from the student application process forward, becomes
necessary. Bourke (2011) affirms that diversity-related initiatives include but are not
limited to race conscious admissions practices, inclusion of multi-cultural elements in the
curriculum, and establishing support of multicultural student centers and organizations on
campus. The rationale of evaluating how to better incorporate a more diverse campus

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culture is to birth positive relationships between advisors and African-American male
students when addressing a lack of diversity amongst the demographic.
Addressing racial stereotypes. Addressing racial stereotypes that African-
American male students face upon enrolling into a higher education institution, becomes
imperative as it shapes the overall collegiate experience. Covertly, issues of race are
woven through an undercurrent that sweeps Black students away from opportunities to
engage in the campus culture (Bourke, 2011). Faculty, staff and administrators face a
need to ensure that the experiences of Black students are acknowledged genuinely
(Burke, 2011). It is common for people to become unaware of invisible expectations,
but, as stated by Clark and Estes (2008), some of the most important elements of
organizational culture are shared basics about how things should be done and how goals
are achieved.
Core beliefs that characterize organizational culture can guide decisions about
goal selection in policy as well as the processes and procedures used to achieve these
goals (Clark & Estes, 2008). Despite challenges and difficulties, academic advisors and
senior leadership owe it to the students they serve to examine the traditions of campus.
Bourke (2011) affirmed that researchers who gain answers can begin to understand the
culture of campus tradition, as they significantly frame the campus culture. Academic
dean(s) and directors are accountable for providing support to academic advisors,
specifically in building trustworthy relationships with said demographic. Bourke (2011)
states where black students are looked to as educators, looks to be a purview of
administrators whose work directly impacts students’ in-class experiences. This is
significant due to Sugar Grove reviewing how African-American males better deal with

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racial stereotypes bestowed upon when enrolling into higher education, and moreover,
inclusiveness of all students of color not be deemed as a benchmark.
If Sugar Grove is to reach the proposed student retention goal for African-
American undergraduate male students, a commitment to success for this demographic
must be prevalent on all levels. The research will address how the former is not solely
exclusive to recruitment and reformed diversity application initiatives but via continued
cultural change. Despite the attention devoted to Black male collegians across a range of
predominantly white institution types, too little emphasis has been placed on their
academic experiences and outcomes (Harper & Newman, 2016). Declaring a goal to
meet a required benchmark is not enough and runs the risk for students of color to feel
alienated and parallel to a number who is solely present for institutional gain, not to meet
the organizational mission of achieving excellence. Table 4 summarizes the influences
based on the above theories and suggests assessment opportunities deemed most
resourceful for research.

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Table 4
Organizational Influences
Organizational Mission
Sugar Grove’s mission statement is to achieve excellence and relevance in teaching,
research and service.

Organizational Global Goal
By December of 2021, Sugar Grove’s goal is to reach 90% student retention for African-
American males.
Stakeholder Goal
By October 2019, Academic Advisors will reach 100% compliance of academic advising
student outreach to follow up with assigned African-American male students initially contacted in
August 2019 to evaluate semester progression in all classes.
Organizational Influences Organizational Influence Assessment

Cultural Model:
DoT Leadership and Academic Advisors needs to
examine campus culture

Evaluate how to advance campus culture to
improve the connection with the African-
American male collegiate experience
Cultural Setting:
Academic Advisors must address how to prepare
African-American male undergraduate students
for racial stereotypes
Investigate how to address eliminate barriers
African-American male students face while
enrolled in college to implement desired
change

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Conceptual Framework: The Interaction of Stakeholders’ Knowledge and
Motivation and the Organizational Context
The purpose of a conceptual framework is to present concepts and variables
between knowledge and motivation, show how organizational variables are influential
towards the former, and how relationships are used to understand the problem and/or
phenomenon. By definition, conceptual framework as interpreted by Maxwell (2013),
Miles & Huberman (1994) and Robson (2011) explains the main things to be studied—
key factors, concepts or variables, and the presumed relationships among them.
This study will uncover the conceptual framework as a model based on Clark and
Estes (2008) knowledge, motivational, and organizational (KMO) influences. The
aforementioned will be instrumental in the highlighted problem of the practice of the lack
of African-American (used interchangeably with Black) Male retention. Furthermore, the
problem of practice will effectively introduce and transition to the headings used in the
literature review that serves as the evaluation model of this study. Although each of the
potential knowledge and motivation influences are presented independent of each other, it
is recognized that each influence does not remain in isolation from each other. Figure 1

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will demonstrate the relationship between the previously mentioned, and how the
influences deriving from the problem of practice intersect.

Figure 1. Retention
The conceptual framework in figure 1 above shows how the importance of
academic advisors’ knowledge and motivation help to shape relationships with African-
American male undergraduate students. In order to achieve the proposed organizational
goal, it is necessary for advisors to understand and reflect on their own advising styles
Organization: Sugar Grove
Cultural Setting: Department of Technology (DoT)
Cultural Model: Achieve Excellence

Organizational Goal:
By December 2021,
African-American
male student retention
will increase to 90%.

Stakeholder: Academic Advisors
Knowledge: Declarative--Advisors must become
knowledgeable on barriers among African-American (AA)
male students impact retention
Knowledge: Metacognitive-- Advisors reflect on
own practices
Motivation: Self-efficacy- Academic Advisors
need to feel confident in their ability to directly impact AA
male student retention
Motivation: Expectancy Value –Advisors must
value how role directly impacts retention of AA males

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and how their approaches impact their ability to build trustworthy relationships with the
target demographic. The framework shows that advisors are to become knowledgeable
on barriers that African-American male undergraduate face. Academic advisors who
become knowledgeable about specific barriers African-American male undergraduate
students face, influence motivation in assigned student affairs roles. If academic advisors
are motivated to execute their assigned on-the-job activities, it is critical to feel confident
in their ability, and value how their role impacts African-American male undergraduate
retention. One way the former can happen to via advisors seeing the expectancy value of
how formative and summative assessment can be used when completing advising
appointments with the assigned demographic and with department leadership. The arrow
that that points to the bottom of the framework demonstrates the relationship where
academic advisors knowledge and motivation directly impacts the value of attaining 90
percent African-American male undergraduate student retention, being the organizational
goal of this analysis.
Knowledge Influences
This portion of the chapter will describe the types of knowledge that best fit for
examination via connecting them to knowledge influences, and explaining the importance
being placed in said category. For this study, factual and procedural knowledge will be
used. Krathwohl (2002) asserts factual knowledge as consisting of the elements needed to
understand a subject, terminology, and specific details, and be able to problem solve
within it. The conceptual framework narrative highlights declarative knowledge factors
that impact African-American male student retention while enrolled at Sugar Grove. As
the cultural model of the mantra reads to achieve excellence, the mental fortitude that

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negatively impacts African-American male student success while attending is the
opposite.
National statistics prove that this population is at the bottom regarding college
retention and degree attainment. Data from the U.S. Department of education indicate
that over the past 35 years, African-American male graduation rates have not increased
more than 5% (Scott, 2012). Although negative in context in relation to the proposed
stakeholder goal, based on the above statistics, it becomes crucial to evaluate how such
low numbers pertaining to African-American male retention in higher education
continues to exist.
Carter (2005) and Scott (2012) affirm that the education plight of the black male
is often associated with underachievement and underrepresentation. Much of the
research on Black male achievement presents troublesome statistics and often negative
stories about chances of academic success (Scott, Taylor & Palmer, 2013). Without the
advisors being knowledgeable of this information, the danger of not being proactive to
rectify this stigma becomes consequential to African-American males while attending
this institution. Moreover, without Sugar Grove being knowledgeable of the above,
indicates no need for advisors and the institution to place a priority on identifying
solutions to combat underachieving African-American males, an early indicator of
attrition.
The second category highlighted is metacognitive knowledge. Krathwohl (2002)
describes metacognitive knowledge as relatively stable information human thinkers have
about their own cognitive processes and those of others. In addition to advisors
becoming knowledgeable on barriers that African-American males face while attending
Sugar Grove, evaluating why the department of technology specifically has low retention

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42
percentages amongst this demographic becomes necessary. Irving and Hudley (2008)
assert a relationship between cultural mistrust and academic achievement, noting that an
increase in mistrust facilitates negative academic outcome among African-American
males. This is significant for advisors to because it affects both their motivation to
complete required responsibilities on the job and their ability to encourage retention of
African-American undergraduate male students.
Motivational Influences
Advisors motivation to remain confident in their ability to impact African-
American male undergraduate student retention is necessary when reviewing causes that
prevent Sugar Grove’s department of technology from reaching the proposed
organizational goal. Motivation is comprised of three indexes, active choice, persistence
and mental effort which influences three aspects of work—choosing to work towards a
goal, persisting at it until it achieved, and how much mental effort is invested to get the
job done (Clark & Estes, 2008). The motivational influence highlighted in this study is
Expectancy value. Expectancy value theory, as described by Eccles (1983) is that
learning and motivation are enhanced if the learner values the task. In order for Sugar
Grove to reach its organizational goal, it is significant that advisors maintain the mental
fortitude to see themselves as valuable campus resources that African-American male
undergraduate students can trust with issues that affect their grades in and out of the
classroom. Irving and Hudley (2008) affirm that students with high cultural mistrust,
oppositional cultural attitudes, and low valuation for education outcomes have lower
expectations for their educational outcome. The former confirms that if students are not
able to trust their advisors, the risk of becoming disengaged to succeed academically
increases.

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Organizational Influences
In order to better understand the urgency of uncovering factors that create the
problem of practice, is it important show how the highlighted KMOs are interdependent
towards each other. Clark and Estes (2008) states that increasing knowledge, skills, and
motivation—and focusing those assets on organizational goals, are keys to success. In
the above figure 1: Retention, the Organization blue circle represents Sugar Grove along
with its cultural setting —Department of Technology, and cultural model—achieve
excellence. The blue circle meeting the orange circle shows how the knowledge and
motivational influences of its stakeholders-- Academic Advisors, interact with each other.
The Stakeholder and Motivation orange circle addresses the knowledge types—
declarative and metacognitive. Advisors will receive factual knowledge from African-
American male undergraduate students, highlighting how underachievement and
underrepresented stigmas among this demographic have proven to be influential on the
demographics’ retention rate. The circle continues by highlighting the second knowledge
barrier of advisors reflecting on their own advising practices when advising African-
American male undergraduate students. This connection shows the opportunity for
advisors and Sugar Grove to connect both declarative and metacognitive knowledge
factors in order to help achieve the organizational goal. In conclusion of the orange
circle, is the motivational influence—Expectancy Value. Here shows the relationship
between advisors and the internal motivation needed to evaluate causes that prevent
Sugar Grove from reaching its organizational goal. The former is linked to the orange
organizational goal square via the green arrow, showing the conclusion of figure 1.
Inside the orange square reads Sugar Grove’s organizational goal of increasing student
retention among continuing African-American males to 90% by December of 2021.

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Conclusion
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the lack of African-American male
undergraduate student retention at Sugar Grove. This chapter provided a literature
review on the knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences that impact the
above problem of practice. Said influences target knowledge-based elements, including
academic advisors lack of knowledge about barriers that African-American male students
face, and reflecting on own advising practices. Motivational influences highlighted
advisors valuing their own abilities deemed impactful on African-American male student
retention and valuing how their position impacts the retention of this demographic. It is
concluded by organizational influences which focused on clearly examining campus
culture, and addressing how to prepare African-American male undergraduate students to
deal with racial stereotypes. The validation process for the previously mentioned KMO
influences are further implemented in Chapter Three where the study’s methodological
approach will be presented.

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CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY
This study examines Academic Advisors’ knowledge, motivation and
organizational context in relation to increasing African-American (used interchangeably
with Black) male student retention to 90% at Sugar Grove. The purpose of this chapter
was to describe the methodology for the research study, including data collection and
data analysis procedures. In the collection of data, the purpose is to answer the following
research questions:
1. What are the Academic Advisors’ knowledge and motivation related to
increasing African-American (used interchangeably with Black) male student retention to
90% at Sugar Grove?
2. What is the interaction between the institutions’ culture and context and
academic advisors’ knowledge and motivation in achieving 90% African-American male
student retention?
This chapter presented the research design and methods for data collection and
analysis aligned with research questions to keep the above concept in focus. Chapter
three also showed how the chosen instruments were administered and how participation
was encouraged for this study. The included information was reflected in the
researcher’s ability to ensure validity, credibility, reliability and trustworthiness
throughout conducting research. The chapter will conclude with ethical considerations
for participating academic advisors, along with limitations and delimitations.

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Participating Stakeholders: Academic Advisors.
The primary stakeholder group of focus were Academic Advisors. The
department of technology houses six advisors in total population, and six advisors were
used for this study. Participants were selected from via typical variation and focus on the
following criterion; chosen institution, advising expertise and interaction with assigned
African-American male students. Furthermore, an additional population to sample from
to help understand the above stakeholder group of focus were African-American male
undergraduate students. The addition was deemed useful for understanding
organizational influence as it relates to the above research questions.
Survey Sampling Criteria and Rationale (African-American Male Students)
Criterion 1. African-American male undergraduate students who were in their
first semester at Sugar Grove were identified as eligible to complete the survey. The
rationale for this was due to using the data given to help determine college preparedness,
performance, and any early indicators of attrition awareness for academic advisors.
Criterion 2. African-American male undergraduate students who are continuing
their education at Sugar Grove. The rationale for this was due to this student
demographic having more experience working with academic advisors and having a
higher level of familiarity with the institution as a whole, therefore were able to provide
insight on their overall collegiate experience while enrolled.
Survey Sampling (Recruitment) Strategy and Rationale
The sampling strategy used for this portion of the study was convenience
sampling. The recruitment strategy that was implemented to target 45 African-American
male students will be via a third-party; EDUC 1300 professors, and residential hall
advisors. Said professors and advisors were contacted via faculty meeting presentations

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47
and follow-up emails. After determining eligibility based on the above criteria, the target
population was defined by the above criterion one and two to assist in answering the
research questions. Convenience sampling was used when collaborating with professors
and recruited 45 African-American male undergraduate students. Students who were
eligible participate in the survey were assigned to one of six academic advisors in the
department of technology and meet the above criterion. This was significant due to the
target population being African-American mal undergraduate students and ensuring that
the survey was distributed exclusively to the specific demographic. African-American
male students who were recruited either have taken the first-year course in the last four
semesters or are currently enrolled. The timeframe given to complete the survey was
within fourteen (14) days to receiving the survey link via email.
Sampling
Interview Sampling Criteria and Rationale
Criterion 1: Sugar Grove Academic Advisors. Stakeholders identified for this
study were Academic Advisors. Academic Advisors were deemed to be the best fit for
the stakeholder group due to the requirement of interactions per semester with the target
student population in the aforementioned research questions. The rationale for choosing
academic advisors as stakeholders included the front-line relationship advisors were held
accountable to cultivate with the population highlighted in the research questions and
conceptual framework.

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Interview Sampling (Recruitment) Strategy and Rationale
The sampling strategy used for this portion of the study was census sampling.
Johnson & Christensen (2015) define census as a study based on data from the whole
population rather than the sample. Census sampling was used due for this study due to
seeking participation from all six academic advisors. This was an appropriate number for
this study due to Kreuger & Casey (2009) affirming that the ideal size of an interview is
five to eight participants. Merriam & Tisdell (2016) affirm nonrandom sampling as using
a particular setting, persons, or activities being selected deliberately to provide
information that is particularly relevant to questions and goals and cannot be received as
well from other choices. Nonrandom sampling was deemed the best fit for this study due
to conducting a focus group with advisors after the data collection process concludes
from students.
Data Collection and Instrumentation
This study utilized surveys, interviews and document analysis to collect data on
academic advisors’ interactions with African-American male students. These methods
were selected because revealed accurate and meaningful data about the impact of
African-American male relationships with academic advisors. The survey portion of the
study gathered information from students enrolled in EDUC 1300, a required first-year
course. Information gathered in the surveys were used to inform interview questions,
which yielded in-depth, rich data on how the academic advising relationship impacts
African-American male student retention. The document analysis focused on fiscal year
retention reports, student services collaborative (SSC), and initiatives from the college’s
academic advising philosophies. Patton (1999) affirms triangulation as the use of

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multiple methods or data sources in qualitative research to develop a comprehensive
understanding of phenomena. The use of triangulation ensured the validity of this study.
Survey
Surveys were administered via Qualtrics online software. EDUC 1300 professors
and resident advisors received the option to receive the link via email or distribute the
survey during classes. Professors and advisors distributed the link and survey to students
who preferred to take it in person. Prior to asking questions, the survey explained the
purpose of the study and informed participants they can withdraw from participation at
any time. The survey was comprised of 25 multiple choice questions highlighting
barriers African-American males face that impact college readiness, relationships with
faculty/student affairs professionals and concludes with initial campus perceptions and
college experiences. All questions had answers ranging from true-false to strongly
disagree/strongly agree. The questions in the above sections were selected to obtain
knowledge that impacts African-American male relationships with their advisors in three
stages of college: preparation, performance and persistence. The goal of the survey was
to use the sample of African-American male students to uncover knowledge, motivation
and organizational factors that affect retention. This was highlighted via McEwan &
McEwan’s (2003) usage of the three principal characteristics of ethnography; naturalistic,
descriptive and focus on meaning and explanation. The answers given resulting from the
surveys was addressed in the interview component with academic advisors. Creswell
(2008) affirms the completion of field-testing questions should be executed for validity
and reliability. To ensure this, EDUC 1300 professors and former academic advisors of
Sugar Grove participated in field-testing.
Interviews

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Interview Protocol. Scheduled interviews were semi-structured with guiding
questions, with follow-up questions as affirmed by Merriam & Tisdell, (2016) if
applicable. This approach was deemed most appropriate for data collection due to having
a loose structure of inviting conversational dialogue between the researcher and academic
advisor with the intent of receiving a high amount of information. Merriam & Tisdell
(2016) describe semi-structured interviews as having greater flexibility through the use of
less structured questions, allowing for deeper valuation and meaning. The questions were
aligned with the knowledge, motivation and organizational elements of the conceptual
framework in order to successfully uncover how the academic advisor relationship with
African-American male student played a prominent role in retention. If initial responses
required a deeper understanding, the interviewer proceeded with follow-up questions for
clarification and/or additional information.
Interview Procedures. Interviews were based on availability of academic
advisors with semester obligations such as; orientations, department engagements,
campus commitments, and appointments with students. Interviews were held after
surveys have been collected and organized. Merriam and Tisdale (2016) believe that
with regard to the use of multiple methods of data collection, what someone tells you in
an interview can be checked against what you observe on site or in documents relevant to
the phenomenon of interest. One-time interviews were conducted with six different
academic advisors in private individual sessions at Sugar Grove in their respective
offices. Patton (2002) affirms that the informal, conversational review as the approach
that offers maximum flexibility to pursue information in whatever direction appears to
appropriate depending on what emerges from observing a particular individual or setting.
Each interview had an advisor from a core student subject, including Interdisciplinary

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Studies, First-Year Center, English, and Engineering. Interviews were recorded via rev
audio recorder application, coupled with the scribing of field notes, the latter which was
saved on google documents via laptop. Interviews took approximately 60 minutes.
Documents and Artifacts
Bowen (2009) affirms document analysis as a systematic procedure for reviewing
or evaluating documents, both printed and electronic. As such, Sugar Grove’s website
and digital material deriving popular cultural documents were used to examine college
retention and attrition. Merriam and Tisdell (2016) affirm popular cultural documents as
materials produced for the purposes of informing/education. Materials used for this study
included literary works from social media website(s) and online documentaries that are
either directly related to the institution and/or show a linear correlation to the problem of
practice. These materials were chosen due to uncovering fact-finding information and
data about African-American male student retention.
Sugar Grove’s fiscal year retention reports, student services collaborative and
initiatives from the colleges academic advising philosophies were analyzed. The purpose
of both initiatives was to identify accountability measures for student affairs
professionals encouraging retention for black male students, a direct connection to the
conceptual framework. The student services initiatives were examined from a knowledge
and organizational lens as it reflected the expectations of advisors as well as provide a
benchmark for advising services and resources. The diversity initiatives were examined
from an organizational lens to uncover findings of the research questions on the influence
of campus culture specifically for inclusion of African-Americans. The student services
collaborative initiatives were retrieved online. The semester-by-semester fiscal report of
African-American male student retention was obtained from academic advisors and

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department leadership. The yearly fiscal report was examined from a knowledge and
organizational lens of the conceptual framework as it provided data that showed retention
from semester-to-semester among African-American undergraduate male students.
Merriam and Tisdell (2016) suggest using analysis to reveal authentic data within a study.
By using content analysis highlighting African-American male student retention from
semester-to-semester provided clarity of retention, one of the key elements of the
conceptual framework. Furthermore, reviewing fiscal year reports allowed for
triangulation of data, including survey responses from participating African-American
male undergraduate students regarding college preparation performance and barriers that
impact persistence. The gathering of these documents was necessary to strengthen the
factual, procedural, and metacognitive components used by academic advisors per the
conceptual framework.
Credibility and Trustworthiness
Three different methods of data collection, survey, interviews and document
analysis, were used to increase the credibility and trustworthiness of this study. Merriam
and Tisdell (2016) affirm that multiple methods help determine if the data is congruent
with reality and that the study measures what it is intended to measure. The interview
questions and protocol were peer reviewed by student affairs professionals within higher
education in order to maintain credibility. To strengthen the design prior to collecting
data, online documentaries with student affairs professionals were utilized for this study.
After data collection from surveys and interviews, discrepant evidence of answers such as
response patterns from participants were closely reviewed during the data analysis phase.
Professionals, specifically in student affairs and academic advising in higher education
reviewed the findings to ensure credibility and trustworthiness.

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Validity and Reliability
For this study, a survey was sent to 45 African-American male students either
enrolled or have completed the EDUC 1300 course. The target was a 100% participation
rate, but all students were not expected to participate. The survey contained questions
regarding preparation, performance and persistence and was comprised of 25 questions.
Questions, as affirmed by Fink (2013), were understandable and to the point. Surveys
had a two-week response period and all responses were protected with anonymity as no
identifiable information will be collected from participants which increased validity.
Friendly reminders were sent to EDUC 1300 professors within a week of survey link
distribution, as well as 48 hours prior to the two-week time limit of completion. To
maintain validity and reliability of the knowledge, motivation and organizational
elements of survey creation, all questions were reviewed by EDUC 1300 college
professors that teach and advise students.
Ethics
As a researcher, the ethical responsibilities included maintaining high levels of
respect, confidentiality and sensitivity towards all human participants involved.
Moreover, providing the setting where participants feel comfortable to trust the
researcher with sensitive information that were uncovered throughout this process was
necessary. The IRB process helped to ensure ethical standards. Glesne (2011) affirms
that having sufficient information to make informed decisions, eliminating unnecessary
risks, benefits outweighing potential risks, is critical when reviewing ethical
responsibilities. Prior to the beginning of the study, examining potential risks and taking
precautionary measures to ensure a secure environment for participants, were necessities.
Participants were well-informed about the purpose and process of the study and the

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researcher provided the participants an open opportunity to withdraw at any time. Rubin
& Rubin (2012) recommend any identifiable information be scrubbed to ensure
confidentiality of participants. Confidentiality was maintained via using pseudonyms
for the higher education institution chosen, and department where academic advisors
were interviewed. Academic Advisors names and/or position ranking were not identified
in the study and if mentioned during the interview process, were omitted in the
transcribing process to eliminate any potential issues.
Limitations and Delimitations
Some limitations of the study included lack of relationships with African-
American male students who attend Sugar Grove, which could have impacted overall
participation and honesty when submitting responses. Using professors as points of
contacts to distribute the survey link to students was problematic due to other obligations
that took priority over survey distribution. Moreover, the target student demographic
may have had other preferences of communication. Although the information and
consent form that was signed by participants clearly stated anonymity and total
confidentiality of answers upon participation, students might not have been convinced
that being completely honest would not have come back to haunt them. With the survey
set-up ranging from numerical (0-5) data, to various forms of strongly disagree to
strongly agree, the possibility of students clicking any answer just to complete the survey
was possible.
Another limitation to the study included complete honesty from participating
Academic Advisors while interviews were conducted. Participating advisors received
informed consent forms that ensured anonymity and confidentiality. Advisors may not

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have been convinced that their answers would not be traced back to their specific person,
so the possibility of giving answers that lack depth was a possibility.
African-American male student retention is an on-going issue that has been
analyzed and reviewed from multiple facets. The delimitations in this study included the
academic advisors’ perspectives of student retention among African-American
undergraduate males. The interview component of the study being limited to academic
advisors within core undergraduate studies, omitted obtaining data on advisors in various
majors of housing African-American male undergraduate students. Moreover, the study
had limited dialogue on other student affairs resources including career development,
mental health, and multicultural affairs. The study primarily focused on academic
advisors’ knowledge, motivational and organizational elements on how to influence
consistent African-American male undergraduate student outreach, to ultimately
encourage persistence. The conceptual framework highlighted the foundation of the
study from underachievement, underrepresentation of African-American male students,
and the extent to which academic advisors impacted their collegiate experience. As
academic advisors were the stakeholders in the study, continued research and dialogue is
imperative to gain more depth on the lack of African-American male student retention
from the demographics’ point of view as well as inclusion from stakeholders.

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CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS
Overview of Purpose and Questions
The purpose of this study was to uncover perceptions of academic advisors on the
lack of African-American undergraduate male student retention within Sugar Grove
University. Questions centered on the knowledge, motivation, and organizational
influences on the relationship between African-American undergraduate males and
academic advisors at Sugar Grove. Six one-on-one semi structured interviews were
completed among academic advisors who varied in numerical status, major, and overall
experience within the department of technology. Interview questions were derived from
the study’s primary research questions:
1. What are the Academic Advisors’ knowledge and motivation related to
increasing African-American (used interchangeably with Black) male student retention to
90% at Sugar Grove?
2. What is the interaction between the institutions’ culture and context and
academic advisors’ knowledge and motivation in achieving 90% African-American male
student retention?
Data collection included completed surveys from 45 African-American male
undergraduate students, six individual interviews with academic advisors, literature
review, and document analysis. Research- based solutions are proposed in chapter five.

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Participant Stakeholders
The target sample population included 45 African-American male undergraduate
students at Sugar Grove University with a 100% participant rate in the survey. African-
American male undergraduates were enrolled in the department of technology in age
ranging from 18 years to 22 plus years old. The breakdown of the 45 student participants
by age is displayed in Figure 2 and classification by grade level in Figure 3:

Figure 2. How old were you when you were first accepted into college?
Figure 2 highlighted survey participants’ age when first accepted into Sugar
Grove. 21 out of 45 African-American male undergraduate students were 18 or younger
upon acceptance, 17 out of 45 were 18 years of age, four of 45 participants were 19 years
of age, three out of 45 were 20 years of age and no survey participants over the age of 22
were accepted into Sugar Grove upon completion of this survey.

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Figure 3. What was your classification (grade level) when you enrolled?
Survey results determined that 27 out of 45 of students who completed the survey
were true freshman, 15 out of 45 participants were freshman (2nd semester), 1 out of 45
were sophomore status, 1 out of 45 were first semester transfer, and 1 out of 45 were
other. There were no exchange students who participated in this survey.
Though academic advisors were housed in various colleges and departments
throughout SG, the individual interviews focused on academic advisors in the department
of technology. Academic advisors primarily advised AA male undergraduate majors
ranging from undecided majors, academic opportunity (all first time in college, academic
probation, and transfer students), engineering, the arts, communications, business and
interdisciplinary studies.

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The individual interview sample strategy was purposeful as it examined perspectives on
the influences that made up the knowledge, motivation and organizational influences
from academic advisors to determine key factors that impact AA male undergraduate
student retention. A combination of new and experienced academic advisors was
necessary for this analysis due to the need to uncover how advising experience affected
relationships with African-American male students. Finally, the participants were
purposefully selected based on breadth of experience in various undergraduate majors.
The objective was to analyze and review advisors’ expertise with students in myriad of
majors. Six one-on-one interviews were conducted and participants for each is in Table
5.
Table 5
Academic Advisor Interview Information
Advisor Major(s) Experience Race
Advisor A Business 2nd semester Black
Advisor B Education,
Psychology
5 years Black/Puerto Rican
Advisor C Arts, Sciences 20 years White
Advisor D Chemistry, Math 21 years Black
Advisor E Education,
Interdisciplinary
Studies
1 year Black
Advisor F Engineering 8 years Black

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Findings
The findings section was organized by theme analysis aligned with the Clark and
Estes (2008) model of knowledge motivation and organizational (KMO) influences
relative to Sugar Grove’s organizational goal. Research question one’s themes included
barriers academic advisors face when building trustworthy relationships with African-
American male undergraduate students, conducting AA male undergraduate student
outreach, and academic advisors’ perspectives on discussing grades with AA male
undergraduate students, along with subsequent sub-themes. The former derived from the
Clark and Estes (2008) knowledge and motivation sectors of the KMO model. Research
question two was the interaction between the institutions’ culture and context and
academic advisors’ knowledge and motivation in achieving 90% African-American male
undergraduate student retention. The research question derived via themes that included
academic advisors communication with department leadership, how academic advisors
were delegated tasks from leadership how lack of resources impacted academic advisors’
efficiency, along with relative sub-themes. The former derived from the organizational
influence sector of Clark and Estes (2008) Knowledge, motivation and organizational
(KMO) influence model. Chapter four concludes with a synthesis of the findings and an
explanation of the significance of the research. Chapter five will provide
recommendations for the organization.

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Research Question One
The first research question asked what the Academic Advisors’ knowledge and
motivation were related to increasing African-American (used interchangeably with
Black) male undergraduate student retention to 90% at Sugar Grove. Table 6 highlights
the following themes to where academic advisors at Sugar Grove have advanced to attain
the organizational global goal.
Table 6
Research Question One Themes
Research Question One: (Themes)
• Barriers academic advisors face when gaining knowledge on personal
and academic challenges African-American male undergraduate
students endure
• Academic advisors conducting African-American male student outreach
to foster sense of belonging and eliminate culture shock
• Academic advisors reflect on own advising practices when discussing
grades with African-American male undergraduate students

Data collection included surveys, individual interviews, and document analysis.
The section closes with a synthesis of information gathered. Research-based solutions
are proposed in chapter five.

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Barriers academic advisors face when gaining knowledge on personal and academic
challenges African-American male undergraduate students face
When interviews were conducted with academic advisors, a common theme was
barriers faced when gaining knowledge on personal and academic challenges African-
American male undergraduate students endure. During individual interviews, academic
advisors spoke on the inability to reach the target demographic who face issues that
impact retention via the implemented uniform communication department leadership
required. Examples of this include advisor D stated how he succumbed to forging a
relationship with Sugar Grove’s counseling services for students on academic probation
and contemplating leaving the university due to personal matters. He stated,
I had a student with a very low gpa. He was almost a 4.0 student when we first
connected in his EDUC 1300 course. We had to outsource because our way of
communicating with him was not effective. Counseling turned him around.
Dialogue also included declarative knowledge of academic advisors perspectives on how
their outreach has impacted African-American male undergraduate students and their
level of preparation needed to be successful at Sugar Grove. An example is where
advisor E noted,
I love them, but this is education. I get to know why they picked the major they
did, what classes they took in high school to prepare them, where they come from,
it helps to dictate how I need to guide them.
Discussions throughout each interview included various ways academic advisors use their
individual styles to build trustworthy relationships with African-American male

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undergraduate students. Advisor B discussed having “an intrusive, yet welcoming
advising approach”.
Advisor E mentioned being one of the elder advisors by age.
I’m looked at as the mother bear and protective of my students. I have a 17 year
old son, so I find myself partial to the African-American males when they’re
doing good, need resources like career counseling, and when they need to be set
straight on their path.
Interview results showed five out of six academic advisors discussed directing students to
on and off-campus resources to assist with job preparation, mentorship, and other various
components to assist with relieving of students’ worries in order to focus on being
academically successful.
The statistics mentioned above are contradictory to results from the students who
participated in the survey. Findings showed that only five out of 45 African-American
male undergraduate students expressed that they strongly agreed (5) of comfort of
discussing personal issues that affect studies with their respective academic advisor.
Moreover, only seven out of 45 student participants strongly agreed that their academic
advisors helped them navigate through the stressors that come with attending college.
The data shows that with the lack of trust that the target demographic have towards their
advisor, if they have an internal issue such as finances or family issues, or campus related
issues such as racial profiling that affects their academics, are not going to communicate
what they are going through.

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Academic Advisors Conducted African-American male Student Outreach to Foster
Sense of Belonging and Eliminate Culture Shock
A common theme in interviews showed that academic advisors used the intrusive
advising approach when completing African-American male student outreach. Intrusive
(proactive) advising is described by Earl (1988) as a deliberate, structured student
intervention at the first indication of academic difficulty in order to motivate the student
to seek help. This was significant due to data from the SSC uncovered that only 28% of
African-American male undergraduates on academic probation were responsive to
academic advising outreach to complete enrollment for the following semester.
Advisor A stated that “having an intrusive approach is counterintuitive to her
approach on advising that she is comfortable with but is needed to reach students on
probation.” Advisors C and D stated that due to being employed by Sugar Grove “for a
long time is able to read when students are not going to (take initiative to) come in and
schedule an appointment to go over grades and classes.” Advisor D added that “some of
our black men are ashamed to face me because if their grades are not up to par from our
initial discussion, they feel like they have let me down and avoid me when it’s time to
schedule next semester’s courses.” Advisors B and F concluded with similar statements
of “seeing students around campus and having to remind them in front of their friends to
come see them for classes and to discuss how their grades are.” The significance of this
showed the outcome of being intrusive highlighted early indicators of African-American
male undergraduate students underperforming in the classroom due to evading
communication with academic advisors.

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Academic Advisors Advising Practices when Discussing Grades with African-
American Male Undergraduate Students
A common theme across all interviews included academic advisors stressing the
importance of being able to discuss grades with their assigned African-American male
students. According to the student success collaborative, 100% of academic advisors
included grades as a focal point of discussion of students. Advisor E described, when I
see a student that comes into this office and I pull up their (grades), they're ready two
strikes (repeating) in history, I look at their grades and if I see them struggling in math
and then we need to have a conversation.
Advisor C noted that “you have to understand, you know, math doesn’t come easy for
everybody and if you don't pass, you don’t get into this major.” Advisor E’s reasoning for
discussing how grades and picking the correct classes directly impact advancing towards
ones’ aspiring major with this student, was to highlight how students try to navigate
through classes to get into a major that does not best compliment their skill sets. Advisor
C had a different intrusive approach when discussing how he builds relationships with
African-American male undergraduate students regarding persistence. He stated:
I advise a black male student who is noted to be the man on campus. I tell him that
you have to keep your grades up to stay here. Do not try to make it through classes
that you know are not your strong suit because you will fall behind, lose interest,
and come in here looking for help.
The significance of this shows how advisors were in unison in showing African-
American male students the how grades and picking the correct classes early in their
undergraduate studies, impact persistence. Figure 4 highlights the survey participants’
level of comfort of discussing grades with their academic advisor:

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Figure 4. My level of comfort of discussing my grades with my academic advisor
Figure 4 highlighted student participants ranging from 0 (strongly agree) to 5
(strongly agree). Although the interview responses highlighted advisors showing interest
in their African-American male student success in the classroom, only12 out of 45 gave a
level 4 (agree) out of 5 (strongly agree), and nine out of 45 of participants gave a level 5
out of 5 (strongly agree) when choosing their levels of comfort of discussing grades with
their academic advisor.
Uniform Communication among Academic Advisors. In every interview, academic
advisors spoke on the challenges of remaining motivated to serve African-American male
undergraduate students due to the uniform approach bestowed upon the department. A
common theme included advisors wanting to break the mold of uniform communication
and student outreach in favor of innovative, forward-thinking, yet authentic student

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outreach to build trustworthy relationships. Pellegrino et al., (2005) suggested to support
innovation within institution and within the field of academic advising. The authors
continue by suggesting enhancing academic excellence and innovation via introducing
new perspectives to increase student satisfaction and expression when communicating
with advisors. Figure 5 highlights student participants’ responses to the question: my
advisor helps me to express my feelings:

Figure 5. My Advisor helps me to express my feelings
Figure 5 showed only eight out of 45 student participants have a level 4 (agree)
out of 5 (strongly agree), and five out of 45 ranked a level 5 out of 5 regarding their
advisor helping them to express their feelings. Advisors were asked how do they
specifically identify when an African-American male student is in need of assistance.
Each interview highlighted using intrusive advising techniques to encourage students to
express their feelings. Advisor E stated, “my male students are on academic probation

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and even after all we’ve done and that still probably won’t be good (enough) to get off
probation and stay off probation.”
The significant of this showed that this academic advisor lacked the motivation to
continue to use their acquired skill sets to keep students motivated to stay off probation,
increasing the chances of attrition. Advisor C stated,
Some of my students can get off probation, but staying off probation, is where I
noticed I have to change my technique. I don’t like having to harp on them like
they are children, but sometimes they need it, it’s for their own good.
The significance of this showed that in order for academic advisors to increase retention
amongst the target demographic that they need to know how to change their techniques to
uncover early signs of struggling. The gap of using uniform communication as required
by leadership has shown the hindrance of advisors not being able to have authentic
conversations with students. Findings showed that the gap of not being able to get to the
root students’ problems when conducting outreach, handicaps advisors from being able to
recommend the needed resources to keep African-American male undergraduate students
from persisting.
Academic advisors stated in their interviews that a uniform approach is used when
advising students and conducting student outreach. Specifically, when discussing
barriers on relationship building with African-American male undergraduates, Advisor B
stated,
Speaking on and being privy to the whole advisors having limitations on what we
can and cannot do. If it ain’t broken, why fix it? This is, this is the norms, I don’t
want to know the (new) ideas.

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The significant of this showed how the academic advisor felt like speaking up on
currently implemented department structure could be frowned upon and immediately
dismissed by leadership. Clark and Estes (2008) affirmed that effective change begins
by addressing motivation influencers; it ensures the group knows why it needs to change.
Figure 6 breaks down the responses given by survey participants when asked how they
feel their advisor clearly communicates their responsibility in their own success while
attending Sugar Grove.

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Figure 6. I feel my advisor clearly communicates my responsibility in my own success
Figure 6 showed that 12 out of 45 of student participants answered with a level 4
(agree) out of a possible 5 (strongly agree) and 10 out of 45 answered with a level 5 out
of 5 that their academic advisor clearly communicated their responsibility in the students
own success to persist through their studies. Eight out of 45 participants answered with a
level 3 out of a possible 5, 11 out of 45 answered with a level 2 out of a possible 5, and
two out of 45 answered with levels 0 and 1, respectively.
22 out of 45 student participants who chose levels and 4 and 5, ideals ran parallel
with Hossler and Bean (1990) who argued that the need for academic advising underlies
in specific organizational values attributable to academic advisor/student relationships
such as: career conversation, financial literacy, and fostering positive student attitudes.
In interviews, academic advisors agreed that their role plays an integral part in African-

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American male undergraduate student success, and five out of six participants agreed that
organizational influence is the reason for uniform communication when conducting
student outreach. Figure 7 shows student participants responses to how my advisor helps
me to navigate the stressors that come with attending college.
e
Figure 7. My advisor helps me to navigate the stressors that come with attending college
Figure 7 highlighted that 11 out of 45 student participants gave a level 4 (agree),
and 5 out of 45 gave a level 5 (strongly agree) out of 5 when describing how their
academic advisor helps them navigate the stressors that comes with attending college. In
each interview, academic advisors were asked to expand upon how they identify early
indicators that can trigger stress and ultimately attrition amongst their African-American
male undergraduate students.

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Academic Advisor cultural competence about African-American male student
barriers. Five out of six advisors went into detail and discussed the necessity of being
culturally competent about African-American male student backgrounds. Cultural
competence as defined by Purnell (2002) is the adaptation of care in a manner that is
consistent with the culture of the client and is therefore a conscious process and
nonlinear.
This was necessary due to the sensitive information advisors become privy to that
could potentially impact their students’ collegiate experience. Academic advisors
becoming more knowledgeable of student backgrounds was a key component in building
trustworthy relationships. Advisor D stated the following:
Well, the communication here, it's more of an all-around community. It doesn’t
matter who you talking to. This is how we interact with them right now. Like I
said one guy, I really found out something (was wrong) with (him through social
media posts and his) parents.
Uniform communication required from department leadership to advisors negatively
impacted students’ level of comfort in confiding with academic advisors to address
issues. Advisor B mentioned how it sometimes takes a village to indicate African-
American male student issues before it reaches the level of attrition. Advisor A
explained how using a student’s family as a source of declarative knowledge to form
unity amongst families in order to spark a trustworthy relationship by noting,
So older sister, older brother or something (will come in) and say “my little
brother is having a problem at home or work and he’s not focused on his
schoolwork. He needs to speak with you unless he’s going to drop out and he is

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the first person in our family to go to college.” But the younger ones (students)
say, “I believe I can do this on my own”.
Advisors can improve cultural competency enough to identify and then rectify when all
African-American male undergraduate students, no matter the age group need someone to
confide in while attending Sugar Grove. Figure eight shows the breakdown of
participants’ responses of their advisor being culturally competent:

Figure 8. My advisor is culturally competent
Survey results determined that student participants felt academic advisors were
fairly culturally competent regarding barriers African-American male undergraduate
students face while attending Sugar Grove. Five out of 45 student participants strongly
agreed, while 13 out of 45 agreed and somewhat agreed that their academic advisors were
culturally competent.

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Academic Advisors provided an environment for students to discuss personal
feelings. A theme throughout interviews, surveys and document analysis, is that
academic advisors were accountable for providing a confidential space for students to
freely discuss their personal feelings. Figure nine below highlights the survey
participants’ comfort in discussing personal issues that affect their studies with their
academic advisor:

Figure 9. My level of comfort of discussing personal issues that affect my studies with
my academic advisor
Figure 9 highlighted that a combined 22 out of 45 student survey participants
stated levels of comfort of a 4 (agree) and 5(strongly agree) in discussing personal issues
that affect their studies with their academic advisor. All academic advisors stated in
interviews that they provide an open-door, confidential space specifically for African-

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American male undergraduate students to vent personal grievances. In one of the
interviews, advisor D stated:
I had an experience with a black male this semester. He hadn’t come to see me all
semester. I had never seen the guy, his mother remembered talking to me at
student orientation after I gave a speech to the students about my open-door
policy. She brought him here (into the office) and said “my son needs to talk to
you.
Advisor D talked about an experience where he helped a student who could not
ask for financial help at home by stating “he couldn’t find a job, has no money and how
his mother being laid off attributed to him not having money to buy books for the
semester.” Advisor D continued with:
I said, man, why haven’t you came to talk to me? He just looked at me and said
man, I ain’t know what y’all did in here. I didn’t know. I just know to take care
of problems on my own.
In every interview, academic advisors expressed having limited access to
resources outside of recommending students to campus counseling for issues outside of
their scope of expertise. Advisors shared a common worry that although some personal
issues that African-American male students go through are beyond their professional
level of expertise, that referring them to counseling can be detrimental and lead to
attrition.
The student success collaborative (SSC) uncovered that three out of six academic
advisors that were interviewed included feedback regarding personal issues as early
indicators of attrition for assigned African-American male undergraduate students that

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were on probation. The same number of academic advisors expressed concern of online
documentation highlighting detailed personal trauma could be invasive to student/advisor
trustworthy relationships. Advisor B discussed that
Counselors who may be better suited to speak with and designed to help navigate,
that the student would feel like a number or pushed off again to someone that
does not care about their well-being, so discussing personal issues becomes a
moot point.
Advisor D stated:
We need you. But if you have some stuff going on and if you do not feel
comfortable letting me into that space, let’s look into counseling. I needed
someone to talk to, that understood or at least wanted to understand the personal
trauma I went through while attending college, we’re both black men.
Summary
Academic advisors need to be able to identify sensitive topics and barriers
affecting providing an environment for African-American male undergraduate students to
freely discuss their issues that impact their success in the classroom. Without having the
needed confidential space for dialogue between both parties, the students run the risk of
not visiting the advisors’ office due to lack of motivation to build a trustworthy
relationship, consequently hurting academic advisors’ student outreach productivity.
The significance of this shows how academic advisors used their approaches to
foster an environment for black male undergraduate students to come in and
communicate issues that affect them personally and academically. Contrarily, findings
also showed the gap where black male undergraduate students did not view academic

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advisors as trustworthy confidants to discuss issues that impact their performance
academically. This is glaring whereas the aforementioned point whereas 17 out of 45 of
survey participants either agreed or strongly agreed that they were comfortable discussing
personal issues with their academic advisor.
Findings determined that although all academic advisors believe that they provide
a comfortable environment for students to discuss personal and academic issues that over
50% of participants feel between levels 0-2 in discussing personal issues. This is due to
the balance in personal and academic issues that African-American male undergraduate
students face throughout the stages of preparation, performance and persistence
throughout their collegiate experience.
Research Question Two
The second research question of: What is the interaction between the institutions’
culture and context and academic advisors’ knowledge and motivation in achieving 90%
African-American male undergraduate student retention? The findings derived from the
previous research question of; What are the academic advisors’ knowledge and
motivation related to increasing African-American (used interchangeably with Black)
male student retention to 90% at Sugar Grove. Clark and Estes (2008) gap analysis
model served as the foundation to assist in uncovering elements that impacted reaching
the proposed organizational global goal. Table 7 highlights the following themes where
academic advisors at Sugar Grove have advanced to attain the organizational global goal:

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Table 7
Research Question Two Themes
Research Question Two: (Themes)
• Academic advisors knowledge of campus culture
• Academic advisors communication with African-American male
undergraduate students regarding racial stereotypes on campus

Academic Advisors Knowledge of Campus Culture
A component of organizational effectiveness included academic advisors’ being
well-versed on Sugar Grove’s campus culture. Four out of six academic advisors agreed
to have a high level of knowledge of campus resources for their students, but noted that it
was due to them collaborating with each other and them taking the time to learn about
how the campus culture has been impactful specifically towards African-American male
undergraduate student retention. Harper (2015) affirmed that the continued illumination
of institutional practices and policies that yield inequitable outcomes and marginalize
black students is extremely important. Academic advisor responses from the following
question of how advisors can gain a broader understanding of resources of campus were
pulled to show the necessity of organizational effectiveness of campus resources in order
to be better able to serve black male undergraduate students:
Partnerships with other departments on campus is critical if we want to look
unified as a campus and encourage our black men to want to persist. Everybody
wants to do their thing, it’s never let’s collaborate together or I want to set up
something with DoT, everyone is pretty much on their own.

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Advisor F continued with:
If it’s not required or in another department’s job description to cross-network,
they aren’t going to do it and address the real issues that affect black men to bring
about change, so it’s hard to live up to the expectation given to authentically
connect with our students, specifically our black males.
The significance of the previously mentioned quotes highlight how the academic
advisors expressed how separation among professionals working in different departments
impacts Sugar Grove’s campus. Moreover, how said separation has negatively impacted
the collegiate experience for African-American male undergraduate students.
Academic advisors’ efforts on ensuring that African-American male students
were knowledgeable about understanding campus were fairly mixed. According to the
survey, eight out of 45 participants strongly agreed and 12 out of 45 agreed that their
advisor helped them to better understand campus. When addressing the data with the
academic advisors, a common theme included directing African-American males to
accessible resources around campus including tutoring, mental health and counseling
services, student organizations and Black Greek Lettered Organizations (BGLO’s).
Figure 10 shows the breakdown of the participant responses regarding academic advisors
helping them to better understand campus.

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Figure 10. My advisor helps me to better understand campus
Although the findings show a disconnect between academic advisors and African-
American male undergraduate students in regard to campus culture when conducting the
gap analysis, it is smaller than previous sections as a total of 19 out of 45 participants
either agreed or strongly agreed that their advisors helped them to better understand
campus. When asking advisor E how would you describe the campus culture that
encourages African-American male undergraduate students to persist? The advisor stated
“that’s a hard one because there are not any specific initiatives that is geared towards
black males only.” Advisor F mentioned “there are students that go to workshops aside
from the required probation workshops, and if there is one, I don’t know about it.” The

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aforementioned supports a disconnect regarding academic advisors providing applicable
campus resources to African-American male undergraduate students.
Findings from the survey indicated that 15 out of 45 participants somewhat
agreed, 13 out of 45 agreed, and seven out of 45 strongly agreed that academic advisors
referred them to appropriate campus resources. Findings from the survey also indicated
that four out of 45 of survey participants strongly agreed, 11 out of 45 agreed, and 13 out
of 45 somewhat agreed when asked if they had a stronger sense of self-confidence post-
seeing their academic advisor. The significance of the data showed how important
having confidence is post-advisor appointment and how it correlates into African-
American male undergraduate students trusting them to receive knowledge on how
campus culture impacts their collegiate experience.
Synthesis of Academic Advisors Knowledge of Campus Culture
Findings determined that academic advisors’ knowledge of campus culture played
an important role in their relationships in building trust with African-American male
undergraduate students. Academic advisors apparent disconnect networking with other
colleges and schools on campus were glaring such as providing detail on the topics
covered in academic probation workshops and what key takeaways African-American
male undergraduate students get post-completion. This is significant due to academic
advisors and faculty members and staff who interchangeably gain knowledge of each
other’s areas of expertise, increase the chances of accomplishing the stakeholder goal.
Moreover, the development of a unified front of knowledge gained between academic
advisors and faculty members/ staff can be used to identify and break barriers that
negatively impact student success for African-American males. Strayhorn (2013)
assesses college student success as a function of many factors, and advisors are

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encouraged to work with faculty members to provide applicable resources for
underrepresented students who show early indicators of dropping out. The level of
engagement is typically enhanced by the presence of professors, but students have
identified mentoring and advising to their experience and learning (Brooms and Davis,
2017). Research has identified faculty mentors and advisors as institutional agents that
provide critical sociocultural capital for Black males in college (Cuyjet, 2006; Dancy,
2010; Guiffrida, 2005; Moore & Toliver, 2010). This is significant as Brooms, 2016;
Brooms et al., 2015; Strayhorn, 2008) affirmed that bringing together students and
invested faculty/staff members create a community that offers alternative images of what
it means to be black men provides a safe place for self-expression, and contributes critical
support for Black males’ academic efforts. Uncovering information that negatively
impacted campus culture was key for academic advisors knowledge influences to address
the lack of African-American male undergraduate student retention.
Academic Advisors’ Motivation Influences towards African-American Male Student
Retention
Academic advisors motivational influences towards African-American male
student retention where divided into two categories. The first was academic advisors
needed to feel confident in their ability to direct impact African-American male
undergraduate student retention. The second was academic advisors needed to value how
their role directly impacts their motivation to increase African-American male
undergraduate student retention via the expectancy-value theory. When discussing with
advisors how their roles in communication impacted student retention, advisor B stated
that “a change in communication with department leadership was necessary” while
advisor D “felt unmotivated to discuss with leadership how to veer away from the

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uniform approach when conducting student outreach.” Academic advisors confidence in
their communication to promote student retention will be discussed in the following
section.
Academic Advisors need to feel confident to promote student retention. In
interviews, academic advisors referred to the importance of having semi-structured
conversations with African-American male undergraduate students when discussing
indicators that potentially can impact retention. Though the findings showed a disparity
in interest levels that participants felt they received from their advisors, three out of six
advisors affirmed in interviews that they felt comfortable in blending honest conversation
regarding how the uniform approach that the institution suggests for them to use when
conducting student outreach. The difficulty in balancing meeting the institutions
expectations regarding affects their confidence when communicating with students. For
example, when advisor E was asked to talk about how the college communicates with
African-American male undergraduate students, she stated “the use of color or situation
doesn’t have a separate or sensitive approach. It’s just the whole thing. All inclusive.”
Advisor F affirmed with stating “since most of our students are minorities, I can’t really
say there’s a difference in communication with them. So, it’s all pretty much the open-
door policy.”
The common language used between advisors suggest that there is a open-door
policy for all African-American male undergraduate students to come in and speak about
their collegiate experience. However, advisor C expressed that expanding on the uniform
communication suggested by leadership is critical to remain motivated to have honest

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conversations with students to address common confidential issues such as racial
stereotypes, which does not fall under the uniform approach.
This stress is reinforced where stereotypes are covertly or overtly advanced
which particularly negative outcomes for black students (Sackett, Hardison, & Cullen,
2004; Taylor and Antony, 2000). When advisor A was asked what type of intrusive
approaches do you use regarding students on academic probation to avoid negative
outcomes? And described her process as: “Using a formative assessment with the
objective of monitoring classroom progression and grades helps but not all students are
receptive to it.” When advisor F was asked, she responded with “black male students that
are on probation are required to come in multiple times a semester to talk about what’s
going on in the classroom, and outside (that they feel comfortable discussing).” Advisor
C added,
Some take advantage, some don’t. Some don’t come in until they
absolutely have to at the end of the semester, some don’t come in unless
there is a personal issue, some don’t come in at all if their grades are up to
par as far as no longer being on probation.
An open-door policy culture setting does not equate to African-American male
undergraduate students feeling comfortable enough to come in and discuss their issues or
progression. One participant noted, “I knew at some point a document was coming that
made them feel like their advisor was not interested in their success, but to meet a quota.”
The findings are displayed in figure 11:

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Figure 11. My advisor is genuinely interested in my success
Figure 11 showed that according to the survey, 14 out of 45 participants chose
three out of five, 12 out of 45 participants chose four out of five, and nine out of 45 chose
five out of five when answering how they feel their advisors seemed genuinely interested
in their success. The answers provided by the survey participants showed advisors how
African-American male undergraduate students felt about their levels of interest in their
success academically.
Synthesis of Academic Advisors’ Confidence in Role to Promote Retention
The findings determined that academic advisors need to feel more confident in
their role to promote student retention. If academic advisors are not confident in their
role to serve the students they are accountable for leading, African-American male
undergraduate students will pick up on it and not show up to meet with their advisor to

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discuss their needs. The responses showed that there are more students who feel like their
advisor is interested in their success at Sugar Grove as opposed to not. The motivational
component of Clark and Estes (2008) KMO influences is recommended for academic
advisors to increase their self-efficacy in order to be able to lead African-American male
undergraduate students to persist to graduate from Sugar Grove.
Academic Advisors fairly valued how their role directly impact African-
American Male Student Retention. Via the expectancy value theory chosen via Clark
and Estes (2008) Knowledge Motivation and Organizational (KMO) influences, the
findings determined that academic advisors fairly valued how their role directly impacted
African-American male undergraduate student retention. However, two out of six
advisors questioned whether their role in the department was important to senior
leadership in regard to maximizing their skills set due to the proposed uniform student
outreach. Advisor F stated, “our role is to help them. Provide them with different tools. If
one needs tutoring in math, my role in DoT is to stay abreast of on-campus resources.”
Advisor C stated; “But it’s only so much you can do; the student has to want a different
outcome and achieve more than we do. When you come into college as a black man,
you’re already at a deficit”. Solórzano and Yosso (2002) introduced master as dominant
accounts that are often accepted as universal truths about particular groups (e.g., black
guys don’t care about education)—such scripts usually caricature these groups in
negative ways.
Findings also showed that some academic advisors felt that senior leadership did not
place priority on maximizing their skills set due to the currently implemented expectation
of uniform communication when conducting student outreach.

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Synthesis of Academic Advisor Role Impacting the Problem of Practice
In order for Sugar Grove to reach the proposed organizational global goal of
attaining 90 percent African-American male undergraduate student retention, the findings
show that academic advisors need to place high value on how their role impacts the lack
of African-American male undergraduate student retention at Sugar Grove University.
Communication with the target demographic is a component of reference as proven by
document analysis, interviews and survey participants. Findings from the survey showed
that only seven out of 45 participants strongly agreed, and 11 out of 45 participants
agreed that academic advisors clearly communicated his/her role in their success at Sugar
Grove. Four out of six academic advisors interviewed felt comfortable regarding how
their relationships with their relationships with African-American male undergraduate
students have positively impacted their ability to persist. The former is significant as
academic advisors need to feel comfortable with advising African-American male
undergraduates, coupled with having a clear understanding of their role they assume in
their students success.
Organizational Influences on African-American Male Undergraduate Student
Retention
This analysis focused on two organizational influences, one cultural model and
one cultural setting. The cultural model influence focused on academic advisors
examining the campus culture. The cultural setting showed that academic advisors need
to address how to prepare African-American male undergraduate students for racial
stereotypes while on campus. All of the aforementioned were addressed via the findings
of the analysis and will be addressed individually in the sections below.

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Academic Advisors felt powerless to change campus culture. In interviews, five out
of six academic advisors mentioned feeling powerless when it comes to examining and
changing the campus culture. As previously mentioned, academic advisors expressed a
high level of concern due to the uniform approach of communication with students, but
generally all comments were negative towards voicing change to campus culture towards
leadership. One advisor mentioned:
I used to get irritated and I used to voice those concerns when I saw things not
being followed that affected how efficient we were, or could be, but I’m learning
to adapt. I do the best that I can to move up with what I have.
The significance of the above showed academic advisors discomfort in using their
voice to change campus culture. Academic advisors voiced that the idea of suggesting
that tradition does not equal progression when attempting to build trustworthy
relationships with African-American male undergraduate students, does not bode well
with leadership. The consequence of is if academic advisors feel undervalued in regards
to changing campus culture in areas that affect their job description and hinders being
able to encourage retention amongst the target demographic, the risk of staff turnover
increases.
Synthesis of Academic Advisors Feelings on Campus Culture
Academic advisors’ experience in DoT have varied. Five out of six advisors who
interviewed strongly agreed that the organization does not prioritize examining the
campus culture and honoring opinions of an experienced student affairs professional
staff. Pellegrino et al., (2015) noted that developing and recognizing staff can increase the

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average length of service of professional advisors, normalizing the distribution of length
of service. In addition, academic advisors mentioned being tightlipped amongst each
other in fear of being anonymously “told on” to leadership in regard to desiring to move
to different departments on campus due to lack of recognition of service.
The findings also determined that academic advisors mostly felt uncomfortable
discussing the department of technology’s leadership etiquette towards accountability on
minimizing staff turnover. The interviews ranged from an uneasiness in body language
from academic advisors who were newer to the department, to an intrusive approach from
seasoned advisors. Advisors mentioned the importance of attending professional
development seminars and trainings that provide the opportunity to discuss department
organizational issues including but not limited to uniform communication requirements
given by leadership negatively impacting campus culture. When discussing how the
former impacted African-American male undergraduate student retention, academic
advisors felt like leadership was not open to hearing new ways to change student
outreach, leaving some wondering if leadership valued their employment. Findings also
determined that academic advisors who work to build trustworthy relationships with
African-American male undergraduate students, mentioned students having high levels of
anxiety discussing issues ranging from academics to racial privilege due to the danger of
them leaving the department for another college within the university, and/or quitting
altogether, resulting in the department of technology leadership, specifically creating a
culture of high turnover.
Academic Advisors address how to prepare African-American male undergraduate
students for racial stereotypes on campus. A common theme from all of the academic

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advisors was the observation of how their African-American male undergraduate students
come into the office to discuss personal racial situations. Advisor F discussed how she
communicated with her students’ post-acceptance but prior to enrolling into campus. She
stated that she “reaches out to them, have a different approach with them in regarding to
answering questions about racial situations or things that they have heard about Sugar
Grove.” Advisor A commented:
We would talk and figure out where he was mentally. Even the kids from other
races called him coon, Uncle Tom, because he came from money and did not have
your typically southern accent. He tried too hard to fit in. He let them get to his
head and he went from being a smart kid, to probation.
Further, advisor F said,
We would talk and I would say, ok, what is it that you want to do? You know,
unfortunately when someone tells you that they don’t want to be here because of
the racial slurs, being judged by your own people for being smart, it’s kind of
hard to go forward with the conversation.
The above quotes support academic advisors addressing racial stereotypes and
how slurs play a role in African-American male undergraduate student retention
persistence, Academic advisors expressed knowing what to expect, slurs such as “uncle
tom”, “coon” and how some felt helpless on being able to help students navigate through
this obstacle while attending Sugar Grove. Findings determined that if all academic
advisors are not educated on the racialized experiences that African-American male

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undergraduate male students while enrolled at Sugar Grove, attrition becomes imminent
for this demographic. The negative stigma resulting from Sugar Grove’s location,
findings show that it is necessary for academic advisors and senior leadership to be
cognizant of the racial stereotypes that exist on campus.
Synthesis of Racial Stereotypes African-American Male Undergraduate Students
Face
The literature on black students’ racialized experiences has focused mostly on
documenting challenges associated with the stereotypes they face; considerably less
attention has been devoted to understanding how they respond to and resist encounters on
campus (Harper, 2015). Advisors in the analysis discussed how racial stereotypes, black
males being called uncle tom’s, being teased because their parents are financially stable,
or they may have gotten a high-profile scholarship, negatively impact their collegiate
experience due to the inability to not knowing how to respond.
Academic Advisors varied in discussing racial privilege on campus with African-
American male students. Four out of six academic advisors discussed having
conversations of racial privilege with colleagues and leadership. Two out of six stated
that it is a regular topic between themselves and students and overall comfortability in
discussing personal issues that affect academics. Advisor D noted that “getting culturally
involved and having friends of all races” when he was growing up better abled him to see
black male students’ aspirations. As a white male, he knew when he was “younger to
know African history, be respectful of the art, the music and everything black people, not
just men try to do to get through life that’s full of inequality.” Five out of six academic
advisors stated that they have individual conversation of racial privilege on campus with

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one another and inform the African-American male undergraduate students they advise
that racial privilege is very prevalent. One advisor stated that:
Nobody ever explained to me what college was going to be like. If a student
comes in and says, this needs to stay in this room regarding how I feel about race
on campus and what I see in the classroom, I’m not going to put your business out
there. Not going to tell your mom or no one.
One out of six academic advisors did not discuss racial privilege on campus with
African-American male students. The advisor stated that said discussions is like “beating
a dead horse”. Advisor A stated:
I speak with another advisor who’s one of my mentors. Since I am newer to the
department, I ask for clarification on if certain topics like racial privilege should
be discussed, or even how I should deal with it if a student brings it up.
Advisor E continued with:
A student knew that one black woman did not make as much money working in
our department as another woman of a different racial background in the same
position in another department. He asked if I knew why, and if I thought it had to
due to race. I was very short, said no. But it is something that is very prevalent
here.
This was significant as the department of technology primarily serve African-
American male undergraduate students from urban communities. Student success
collaborative documents (SG, 2019) showed that 72 percent of African-American male
undergraduate students who struggled with maintaining a 2.0 GPA hail from
economically challenged and racially segregated neighborhoods within the state of Texas.

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Harper and Davis (2012) noted that in the wake of major educational reforms,
underrepresented groups have continuously struggled to improve their status due to
inequalities of opportunity and disparities. Findings show that racial privilege is
necessary for academic advisors to discuss with African-American male undergraduate
students due to the students’ potential believing that both black people are not worth of
equal pay opposed to their colleagues of different races post-college.
Research Question Two Findings Synthesis
Although academic advisors are not accountable for the number of African-
American male undergraduate students enrolled per semester, they were the first point of
reference outside of the classroom to consult regarding Sugar Grove’s low retention rate
for this demographic. Outside of mandatory monthly meetings with the director of
student affairs, there was little organizational guidance from senior leadership including
the department of technology deans. Academic advisors with the most experience
shouldered multiple responsibilities stemming from larger caseloads of African-American
male students in their respective majors. This included consistent communication
amongst fellow colleagues regarding completion and submission of SSC notes to senior
leadership and the director of student affairs and outsourcing to other student affairs
departments regarding campus activities. As a result, productivity regarding student
outreach, specifically to African-American male students either decreased or fluctuated
throughout the last academic year, resulting in high turnover of academic advisors.
When discussing best practices involving addressing racial stereotypes African-American
male undergraduate students face, advisors expressed displeasure from senior leadership
regarding the currently implemented uniform approach of communication.

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The findings also uncovered that most academic advisors either felt powerless in
describing potentials benefits to make changes to the campus culture and saw limited
value in their role to encouraging African-American male undergraduate student
retention. As a result, the data showed that the survey participants overall felt that
academic advisors lacked interest in their success, lacked interest in their success, and the
majority felt uncomfortable discussing personal issues that affected their academics.
Academic advisors thought that the uniform communication system that leadership
abides by due to tradition, is seen a mechanism that no longer works as the data shows
retention of high quality staff as well as African-American male undergraduate students
are quicker to leave or change institutions as opposed to waiting for change. To avoid
advisors from leaving, it was determined that leadership must examine and rectify levels
of accountability on strengthening relationships with academic advisors. Table 8
discusses the table summary of organizational influences and themes:

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Table 8
Summary of Organization Themes
Research Question One: (Themes)
• Barriers academic advisors face when gaining knowledge on challenges
African-American male undergraduate students face
• Academic advisors conducting African-American male student outreach
• Academic advisors reflect on own advising practices when discussing grades
with African-American male undergraduate students

Research Question Two: (Themes)
• Academic advisors knowledge of campus culture
• Academic advisors communication with African-American male undergraduate
students regarding racial stereotypes on campus
Influences Themes Sub-Themes
Cultural Model:
Examining Campus
Culture
Academic Advisors
knowledge of
campus culture
Academic Advisors feel powerless to
change campus culture

Cultural Setting:
Racial Stereotypes
Academic Advisors
prepare African-
American males
how to deal with
racial stereotypes
on campus
Lack of discussing racial privilege with
African-American male undergraduate
students and colleagues impacts
academic advisors

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Summary
Findings from the interviews, survey participants, and documents via the SSC,
showed the differences in perspectives academic advisors have about how the institution
impacts African-American male undergraduate student retention. The aforementioned
methods that were chosen showed the various approaches academic advisors use to
integrate their value towards rectifying the problem of practice. Findings from the
analysis uncovered that the academic advisors in the department of technology used
declarative knowledge about barriers that African-American male undergraduate students
face as a mechanism to build dialogue in their advising appointments. However,
blending communication with procedural knowledge suggested by leadership to build
trustworthy relationships with the student demographic was an area of opportunity. The
findings showed that academic advisors are required to see each African-American male
undergraduate student on academic probation at least twice a semester. Formative
documents included study packets showing progression in problematic and repeat courses
from professors. Advisors discussed that some students did not value the utility of their
grade given from professors and verbally discussed displeasure with their professional
etiquette in the classroom, which negatively impacted their grade. Advisors identified
these situations as a motivational tool to implement their value in promoting the
importance of time management for study skills, effective communication between the
student and advisor, and developing a plan of action for students to recognize their
strengths. Advisors stated that after uncovering said strengths and documenting the
action plan between them and the student, the goal was to get the student to increase
value in their grades, improve their academic attitude, and persist through Sugar Grove.

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CHAPTER FIVE: RECOMMENDATIONS
Chapter four provided statistical evidence and perspectives of the data analysis
from academic advisors in regard to the two research questions. The previous chapter
highlighted where academic advisors were not meeting proposed goals in African-
American male undergraduate student outreach. Chapter four also interwove survey
responses from participants regarding how relationships with academic advisors’ impact
student retention. Chapter five provides recommendations regarding gaps uncovered in
assumed knowledge, motivational and organization (KMO) influences. The
recommendations will be housed into the Aim to Advance (A2A) program/seminar. Aim
to Advance is tailored specifically for academic advisor professional development and
targets how to encourage retention amongst African-American male undergraduate
students. Gaps such as academic advisors’ relationships with department leadership
(director of student affairs and department dean) and African-American male
undergraduate students, learning and application of real-world scenarios that African-
American male undergraduate students face academic advisor skills sets are thoroughly
examined.
The implementation of the A2A program will be evaluated using the New World
Kirkpatrick Model for Evaluation (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016), which examines
reactions, learning, behavior, and results as evaluation components. Specific areas of
attention include reaction, reflection, reinforcing, and results. Level one is the reaction
that will measure the degree to which academic advisors find the aim to advance training
seminar engaging and relevant to their day-to-day responsibilities. Level two is where
learning will measure the establishment of knowledge, skills, confidence and
commitment based on the tenets highlighted in level one. Level three is where academic

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advisors behavior will be reviewed post-training and how the application of said training
is reflected when engaging in advising appointments with African-American male
undergraduate students. Lastly, level four is where results will examine the achievement
of the proposed target outcomes. This chapter and dissertation will conclude with a
discussion of important areas of the analysis for review in future research. Table nine
below highlight the Knowledge, Motivation and Organizational Themes and
Recommendations:

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Table 9
Knowledge, Motivation and Organizational Themes and Recommendations

Knowledge Theme Recommendation
Academic Advisors need to know the
barriers African-American male
students face that impact persistence
Partner with academic advisors to educate
them on barriers African-American males
face coming into college that negatively
impact building trustworthy relationships
Academic Advisors need to reflect on
their own advising approaches to
determine areas of improvement when
advising African-American male
undergraduate students
Provide opportunities for academic
advisors to express their current styles
while educating them on strengths and
weaknesses allowing time to reflect and
adjust their strategies as needed in order to
build relationships with African-American
male undergraduate students.
Assumed Motivation Themes

Recommendations
Self-Efficacy-Academic Advisors need
to feel confident in their ability to
directly impact African-American male
undergraduate student retention

Partner with Academic Advisors to discuss
challenges, provide private feedback and
help them acquire new behaviors steered
towards on-the-job progress and internal
confidence.
Expectancy Value- Academic Advisors
need to expect that their role directly
impacts African-American male
undergraduate student retention
Communicate with academic advisors
regarding how their roles directly impacts
African-American male undergraduate
student retention via relevant perceptions
tailored to influence learning and develop
positive values.
Assumed Organization Themes

Recommendations
Cultural Model: Urgency to examine
campus culture
Provide Sugar Grove statistics of how
policies and procedures, and organizational
messages impact campus culture,
matriculating down to academic advisors
ability to communicate with leadership
about communication approaches
Cultural Setting: Address how to
prepare African-American male
undergraduate students for racial
stereotypes
Ensure the department of technology is
knowledgeable about racism and lack of
privilege that exists at Sugar Grove by
providing both data and real-world
perspectives about experiences that
African-American male undergraduate
students endure

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Recommendations for Practice to Address KMO Influences
Sinclair (2015) suggests that there are three heuristics for ranking validated
influences: – gravity of the problem, feasibility of the potential recommendations, and
influences that would have the greatest impact. Influence number one: academic advisors
needed to know the barriers that African-American male undergraduate students face
with persistence was determined to be a gap. Influence number two: academic advisors
needed to reflect on their own advising approaches to determine areas of improvement
was determined to be a gap. After completed, the influences that had the highest impact
prioritized. The feasibility of addressing both of the aforementioned influences rank high
in difficulty. Influence number one ranked high in difficulty due to the various barriers
that affect African-American male undergraduate student persistence. Influence number
two ranked high in difficulty due to level of honesty academic advisors may
communicate regarding areas of improvement in their own advising practices. Both
influences have a high impact on the recommendations given in order to achieve the
proposed stakeholder goal, and the organizational global goal. Table 10 shows the
aforementioned influences, rank in difficulty (validation as gaps), principle and citation,
and recommendations.
Knowledge Recommendations
The assumed knowledge section of this analysis focused on the two
aforementioned assumed influences. Influence number one: Academic advisors need to
know the barriers that African-American male students face with persistence. Influence
number two: Academic advisors need to reflect on their own advising approaches to
determine areas of improvement. The Krathwohl (2002) framework was used to guide
the knowledge influences as declarative and metacognitive knowledge dimensions. The

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recommendation for the aforementioned influences based on theoretical principles are
given below. The table 10 summary shows the influences, validation, priority level,
principles and citations.

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Table 10
Summary of Knowledge Influences and Recommendations
Assumed Knowledge
Influence
Validated
as a Gap?
Yes, High
Probability
or No
(V, HP, N)
Priority
Yes, No
(Y, N)
Principle and
Citation
Context-specific
Recommendation
Academic Advisors need
to know the barriers
African-American male
students face that impact
persistence
Y Y Help
individuals
meaningfully
organize and
connect new
knowledge to
prior
knowledge to
construct
meaning
(McCrudden &
Schraw, 2007).

Create a
community of
learners where
everyone
supports
everyone else’s
attempts to
learn (Yough
& Anderman,
2006).

Educate academic
advisors on barriers
African-American
males face coming
into college that
negatively impact
relationship building
with the objective of
advisors to learn
more about this
demographic as
people as well as
scholars
Academic Advisors need
to reflect on their own
advising approaches to
determine areas of
improvement when
advising African-
American male
undergraduate students
HP Y Provide
opportunities
for learners to
check their
progress and
adjust their
learning
strategies as
needed (Denler
et al., 2009)

The only way
to equip people
Provide opportunities
for academic
advisors to express
their current styles
while educating them
on strengths and
weaknesses allowing
them reflect and
adjust their strategies
as needed when
attempting to build
relationships with
African-American

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to handle novel
or unexpected
is with
education
(Clark & Estes,
2008).
male undergraduate
students.

Declarative knowledge solutions. The results and findings of this study indicated that
four out of six of academic advisors need more knowledge of the barriers African-
American male undergraduate students face with persistence. A recommendation rooted
in the behavioral theories of learning was selected to close this declarative knowledge
gap.
McCrudden & Schraw (2007) affirmed to help individuals meaningfully organize
and connect new knowledge to prior knowledge to construct meaning. Addressing issues
that academic advisors mentioned in interviews that affect African-American male
student retention such as family issues, lack of finances due to bills, and inability to
communicate with faculty/staff are necessary in order to gain knowledge. This suggests
to educate academic advisors on how to uncover early-indicators that negatively impact
African-American male undergraduate student persistence. The recommendation is to
educate academic advisors on barriers African-American males face coming into college
that negatively impact advisors from learning more about their advisees as people as well
as scholars.
Schraw and Lehman (2009) suggested to incorporate real-life, original source
materials that are vivid, varied or novel, and create surprise or disequilibrium. Six
academic advisors participated in the study and assessed real-life scenarios that involved
negative outcomes that affect African-American male undergraduate student retention.

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During the conversations, advisors were self-reflective on their own practices and were
requested to provide insight on early indicators signifying potential attrition in African-
American male undergraduate students. Early attrition indicators included African-
American male undergraduate students who worried about their families lights being cut
off taking precedence over their academics, unplanned pregnancies, lack of trust in
confidentiality when communicating with faculty/staff due to hearing other personal
information about students, and feeling unsupported from both professors and advisors
regarding how the aforementioned negatively impacted their collegiate experience.
Pintrich (2003) affirmed the use of organizational and management structures that
encourage personal and social responsibility (Pintrich, 2003). The former is necessary
due to academic advisors use of their advising style and uniform communication
approach as required by Sugar Grove to maintain organizational structure and investment
in increasing African-American male undergraduate student retention. Both are
necessary to learn more about the barriers that African-American male undergraduate
students face. The results also found that advisors who have knowledge on real-life,
vivid situations that African-American males face that impact persistence is impactful to
building relationships with them. This is necessary as advisors who have knowledge on
how outside influences impact African-American male undergraduate student retention
can help garner trust between said students and advisor. Finally, the study highlighted the
important role that declarative knowledge plays in building trustworthy relationships with
African-American male students as Pintrich (2003) stated to focus discourse on mastery,
learning, and understanding. The former connects the previously mentioned knowledge
component for advisors to provide an environment for dialogue between them and

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students to have solution-based conversation regarding resources whenever outside
influences arise to encourage retention.
Metacognitive knowledge solutions.
The results and findings of this study indicated that five out of six of academic
advisors need to reflect on their own advising approaches to determine areas of
improvement. A recommendation rooted in the self-efficacy theory was selected to
address this metacognitive knowledge gap. Denler et al., (2009) stated to provide
opportunities for learners to check their progress and adjust their learning strategies as
needed. This is important due to academic advisors having access to training on
impactful academic advising habits. The recommendation is to provide opportunities for
advisors to express the strengths and weaknesses of their current styles, allowing them to
reflect on and adjust their approaches when attempting to build relationships with
African-American male undergraduate students.
.
In order for academic advisors to obtain trustworthy relationships with African-
American male undergraduate students, it is necessary to provide opportunities for
learners to check their progress and adjust their learning strategies as needed (Denler et
al., 2009). Dembo and Eaton (2000) affirmed to teach learners strategies to manage their
motivation, time, learning strategies, control their physical and social environment and
monitor their performance. Telling advisors to meet with African-American male
undergraduate students and speak with them twice a semester is the bare minimum and
highlights lack of interest on evaluating their own professional strengths and areas of
opportunities. Baker (2006) affirmed the importance of modeling your own
metacognitive processes by talking out loud and assessing strengths and weaknesses.

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Motivation Recommendations.
The assumed motivational influences included in this analysis focused on two
main components. Mayer (2011) suggests that motivation is influenced by five concepts:
interest: working harder to accomplish tasks that have personal value, beliefs: working
harder when one believes work will pay off, attributions: to the extent to which one
attributes their success and failure to level of effort, goals: setting goals to master or
accomplish a task, and finally, partnership: working harder along with social partners.
Influence number one was self-efficacy where academic advisors needed to feel
confident in their ability to directly impact African-American male undergraduate student
retention. Influence number two was expectancy value where academic advisors needed
to expect that their roles directly impacts African-American male undergraduate student
retention. After determining the influences, influence number one was validated as a gap,
and influence number two as a high probability. A summary and recommendations for
the aforementioned motivational influences are given in the table below.

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Table 11
Summary of Motivation Influences and Recommendations

Assumed
Motivation
Influence

Validated as
a Gap
Yes, High
Probability,
No
(V, HP, N)
Priority
Yes, No
(Y, N)
Principle and
Citation
Context-Specific
Recommendation
Self-Efficacy-
Academic
Advisors need to
feel confident in
their ability to
directly impact
African-American
male
undergraduate
student retention

Y Y Help learners
acquire new
behaviors
through
demonstration
and modeling
(Denler et al.,
2009)

Provide goal-
directed
practice
coupled with
frequent,
accurate,
credible,
targeted and
private
feedback on
progress in
learning and
performance
(Pajares,
2006)
Partner with
Academic
Advisors to
discuss challenges,
provide private
feedback and help
them acquire new
behaviors steered
towards on-the-job
progress and
internal
confidence.
Expectancy Value-
Academic
Advisors need to
expect that their
role directly
impacts African-
American male
undergraduate
student retention

HP Y Higher
expectations
for success
and
perceptions of
confidence
can positively
influence
learning and
motivation
(Eccles, 2006)
Communicate with
academic advisors
regarding how
their roles directly
impacts African-
American male
undergraduate
student retention
via relevant
perceptions
tailored to

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Rationales
that include a
discussion of
the
importance of
the work or
learning can
help learners
develop
positive
values
(Eccles, 2006;
Pintrich,
2003).
influence learning
and develop
positive values.

Academic Advisors confidence in impacting African-American male undergraduate
student retention
The results and findings of this study indicated that 100 percent of academic
advisors need to feel confident in their ability to directly impact African-American male
undergraduate student retention. A recommendation grounded in self-efficacy theory
was selected to address this self-efficacy gap. Self-efficacy researchers tend to focus on
individual’s beliefs about how confident they are they can complete different tasks rather
than asking them to compare their efficacy to that of others (Bandura, 1997; Pajares,
1996). In addition, Pajares (2006) affirmed to provide goal-directed practice coupled
with frequent, accurate, credible, targeted and private feedback on progress in learning
and performance. The former suggests that providing feedback that demonstrates the
impact of academic advisors have, will help their confidence. The recommendation is to
partner with academic advisors to discuss on-the-job challenges, provide private feedback
and help them acquire new behaviors steered towards increasing internal confidence. The
former is accompanied by immediate targeted peer feedback.

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As discussed by Wigfield and Eccles (2000), there are a variety of constructs
posited by motivation theorists to explain how motivation influences choice, persistence,
and performance. Motivation, learning and performance are enhanced when learners
have positive expectations for success (Clark and Estes, 2008). The authors also affirmed
that the types of work goals selected and the way they are communicated are vital.
Clarifying skill sets for growth and development and providing support for innovative
ideas within the field of academic advising (Pellegrino et al., 2015) are key components
for academic advisors to remain motivated to encourage African-American male
undergraduate students to persist at Sugar Grove. Academic advisors who have more
knowledge and show genuine interest in learning more about the barriers African-
American undergraduate males face prior to and while attending Sugar Grove coupled
with goal-directed practices will increase their motivation and increase confidence in
their ability to build relationships with this demographic.
Academic Advisors direct impact on African-American male undergraduate student
retention
The results and findings of this study indicated that five out of six academic
advisors need to feel valued in order to remain motivated in their roles of increasing
African-American male undergraduate student retention. A recommendation founded in
expectancy value theory was selected to close this gap. Eccles et al., (1983) defines
attainment value of expectancy-value theory as the importance of doing well on a given
task. In addition, Pintrich (2003) affirmed that rationales that include a discussion of the
importance of the work or learning can help learners develop positive values. This

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suggests that communicating the importance of academic advisors’ role and having high
expectations for success helps to develop positive values. The recommendation is for
department leadership to communicate with academic advisors regarding how their roles
directly impact African-American male undergraduate student retention tailored to
influence learning and develop positive values.
Theorists in expectancy-value theory argue that individuals’ choice, persistence,
and performance can be explained by their beliefs about how well they will do on the
activity and the extent to which they value the activity (Atkinson, 1957; Eccles et al.,
1983; Wigfield, 1994; Wigfield & Eccles, 1992). Hossler and Bean (1990) affirmed that
there are specific organizational values attributable to the academic advisor/student
relationship such as career conversations and fostering positive student attitudes. Eccles
et al., (1983) continued by stating ability beliefs thus are distinguished conceptually from
expectancies for success, with ability beliefs focused on present ability and expectancies
focused on the future. Academic Advisors expectations can be impactful on African-
American male undergraduate student retention, as Bonner and Bailey (2006) assert they
have endured low-expectation from their k-12 teachers which follow them into college.
From a theoretical perspective, academic advisors discussing expectations with African-
American male undergraduate male students would increase value.
Organization Influences and Recommendations
The organizational influences of Sugar Grove include examination and evaluation
of the cultural model and alignment of the cultural setting focusing on the targeted
demographic. Clark and Estes (2008) contend that alignment of an organization’s vision

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and mission must be congruent with an organization’s resources. With Sugar Grove’s
mission focusing on achieving excellence with teaching and service, being cognizant of
the campus culture and setting and how it impacts African-American male undergraduate
student retention becomes necessary. In order for the proposed stakeholder goal to be
attained, the gaps in Sugar Grove’s organizational influences need to address how to
prepare African-American male undergraduate males for racial stereotypes while
attending this institution becomes necessary. These influences were prioritized due to the
downfall of attentiveness towards racial stereotypes that African-American males become
privy to while attending. Recommendations for the aforementioned influences based on
theoretical principles is given below in the following table. Table 12: Summary of
Organization Influences and Recommendations.

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Table 12
Summary of Organization Influences and Recommendations
Assumed
Organization
Influence

Validated
as a Gap
Yes, High
Probabilit
y, No (V,
HP, N)
Priority
Yes, No
(Y, N)
Principle and
Citation

Context-Specific
Recommendation
Urgency to examine
campus culture
Y Y Effective
organizations
ensure that
organizational
messages,
rewards,
policies and
procedures that
govern the work
of the
organization are
aligned with or
are supportive
of
organizational
goals and
values (Clark &
Estes, 2008).

Provide Sugar
Grove statistics of
how policies and
procedures, and
organizational
messages impact
campus culture,
matriculating down
to academic
advisors’ ability to
communicate with
leadership about
communication
approaches
Address how to prepare
African-American male
undergraduate students
for racial stereotypes
Y Y Racism and
privilege must
be addressed on
both systemic
and personal
levels within an
organization to
ensure that
power
imbalances do
not exist and
that all
perspectives are
valued and
given voice
(Chavez,
Duran, Baker,
Avila &
Ensure the
department of
technology is
knowledgeable
about racism and
lack of privilege
that exists at Sugar
Grove by providing
both data and real-
world perspectives
about experiences
that African-
American male
undergraduate
students endure.

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Wallerstein,
2008).

Urgency in examining campus culture. The results and findings of this study
indicated that all academic advisors agreed that it is urgent for the institution to examine
its campus culture. When defining campus culture, it is important to note that Sugar
Grove is deeply rooted in tradition, including its vision and mission, matriculating down
to how academic advisors develop relationships with African-American male
undergraduate students. A principle rooted in leadership theory was selected to identify
this influence gap. Focusing the work on the school’s vision correlated with
improvements in student outcomes (Waters, Marzano & McNulty, 2003) is necessary
when examining how outside influences impact campus culture. This would suggest that
incorporating academic advisors’ input into examining the campus culture will help with
uncovering causes that attribute to increased African-American male attrition rates.
Moreover, how their experiences and outside environmental influences including but not
limited to: transitioning from underserved communities to college, and secondary
institutions who are ill equipped in preparing the demographic to be successful while
attending college, become impacted by campus culture. The recommendation is to
provide Sugar Grove statistics of how policies, procedures, and organizational messages
impact campus culture, matriculating down to relationships between academic advisors
leadership regarding communication approaches towards students. As an example,
academic advisors can speak about issues that African-American male undergraduate
students have faced as a result of the current campus culture, specifically racially charged
statements that impacted their sense of belonging.

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The relevance of the lack of African-American male undergraduate student
retention is compounded when examining the collegiate experiences of this demographic.
Brooms and Davis (2017) stated how African-American males experience college and
enduring their experience, both of which impact persistence and success efforts. The
authors also affirmed that the retention and success of African-American students is the
individual’s experience of the campus culture. The literature supported the urgency for
examining the campus culture in order for academic advisors to encourage African-
American male undergraduate student retention.
Address racial stereotypes. The results and findings of this study uncovered that five
out of six of academic advisors agreed that the department needs to address how to
prepare African-American male undergraduate students for racial stereotypes while
attending Sugar Grove. A principle rooted in accountability theory was used to identify
this influence gap. Systems of accountability should address equity, diversity and access
in various sectors (Lim, Haddad & Daughery, 2013; Trenerry & Paradies, 2012). This
would suggest that incorporating academic advisors’ input into preparing African-
American male undergraduate students to real-world experiences and racial stereotypes is
necessary. The recommendation is to ensure academic advisors are knowledgeable about
racism and lack of privilege that exists at Sugar Grove by providing both data and real-
world perspectives about experiences that African-American male undergraduate students
endure prior to and while attending Sugar Grove. As an example, academic advisors can
be sought after to speak on issues and stereotypes including black male undergraduate
students persevering through living in underserved communities. Racial issues including
challenges black male undergraduate students face adapting to the culture shock of
attending classes with students of other races and facing being called “nigger”, “uncle

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tom”. Issues also included being ridiculed for dress preference, and being a token student
who is often called on to speak on situations rooted in racial privilege when discussing
life experiences while attending Sugar Grove.
With the lack of preparation African-American males have prior to attending
college and previously mentioned racial stereotypes while enrolled, organizational
accountability becomes necessary to lead them to persist. Researchers have noted that
black males face a number of challenges in their lives that impact their educational
trajectory into higher education and hinder their academic success (Brooms & Davis,
2017). Bridges (2011) noted that black males face many sociocultural, academic, and
negative stressors that impact their identity development and relationships.
Integrated Implementation and Evaluation Framework
The researcher created and implemented an evaluation plan via the New World
Kirkpatrick Model (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016) comprised via the Kirkpatrick Four
Level Model of Evaluation. The researcher started with Level Four, which determines if
the material had a positive impact on Sugar Grove’s campus culture. Level Four’s
attributes will assist the researcher to better understand what is and not working in order
to develop customized intrusive academic advising approaches that will assist in Sugar
Grove meeting the proposed organizational performance goal. The researcher will
continue by using Level Three to evaluate whether senior leadership and the director of
academic advising are matriculating the knowledge gained via communication with
academic advisors. By using Levels Four and Three of the New World Kirkpatrick
Model, the researcher will be better equipped to identify leading indicators as an entry
way to highlight critical behaviors. After completing Levels Four through one, the
researcher will be prepared to recommend solutions to achieve the department’s

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organizational performance goal of improving African-American male undergraduate
student retention to 90 percent.
Organizational Purpose, Need and Expectations
Sugar Grove’s organizational mission is to achieve excellence in teaching,
research and service. The organizational global goal is to reach 90 % student retention
for African-American males by December 2021. The proposed stakeholder goal is for
academic advisors to reach 100% compliance of African-American male student
outreach. The proposed goal derived from evaluating semester progression in all classes
starting in August 2019.
This analysis stakeholder group is the Academic Advisors. The reasoning behind
this goal is due to Sugar Grove currently holding an African-American male
undergraduate student retention rate of 54 %. African-American male undergraduate
student retention has been an ongoing problem for Sugar Grove, particularly between the
third through fifth semesters. Academic advisors were chosen as the stakeholder group
due to African-American male students not attending advising appointments when
required. Required visits included scheduling of classes, performance plans while on
academic probation, and semester progression visits while on academic probation. This
negatively impacted not only enrolled enrollment numbers for this demographic but also
academic advisors’ productivity due to lack of student engagement. Furthermore, this
impacted communication between advisors and department leadership due to the uniform
communication model down spiraling as only 18 % of African-American male
undergraduate students checked emails from the DoT and came in to see advisors for
walk-in hours and appointments for the last academic year. The stakeholder group goal
is critical to achieving of the proposed organizational global goal due to academic

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advisors obtaining 100 % compliance in African-American male undergraduate student
outreach. Academic advisors have tangible proof in goal setting to reach the proposed
organizational global goal. Tangibles include a comprehensive academic advisor training
curriculum, advisor-to-advisor, collaboration on overcoming barriers of relationship
building with African-American male students and providing opportunities for participant
practice and modeling. The former’s objective will be used to achieve Sugar Grove’s
proposed organizational global goal.
Level 4: Results and Leading Indicators
Results and leading indicators are both necessary when uncovering solutions on
how academic advisors can reach the organizational goal of increasing African-American
male undergraduate student retention to 90 %. Level Four of the suggested
program/training seminar Aim to Advance, highlights three categories: Outcome,
Metric(s) and Method(s). The aforementioned categories work backwards from the
outcome, how the outcome is tracked via metrics, and which method(s) is used.
Table 13 highlights the external and internal outcomes using metrics and methods
as
mechanisms showing leading indicators. The table shows the methods academic advisors
will use to meet internal outcomes spanning from areas that impact the problem of
practice to department efficiency. The focus on increased productivity of academic
advisors completing student outreach towards African-American males coupled with
leadership improving communication will assist in achieving objectives via external
outcomes.

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Table 13
Outcomes, Metrics, and Methods for External and Internal Outcomes
Outcome Metric(s) Method(s)
External Outcomes
1. Director needs to see
improvement in African-
American male
undergraduate student
retention
Increase retention to 90 % by
Fall 2021
Monitor student enrollment
from transfer to FTIC (first-
time-in-college) AA (African-
American males) semester by
semester starting with second
semester freshmen
2. Department dean
develops a presentation
pipeline to improve
communication with
director regarding best
practices for academic
advisors
50 % of all academic advisors
within DoT meet with
director three times a
semester
Create a plan with the objective
of monitoring academic
advising techniques
3. Director creates
quantitative data
presentation showing
increased productivity
from academic advisors
Meet with academic advising
team once a month
Develop a semester-long
calendar highlighting meetings
times and dates with academic
advisors
4. Itinerary developed
amongst academic
advisors and director with
objective of increased
student outreach towards
African-American male
undergraduate students
All advisors meet with director
three times a semester,
minimum of five times an
academic school year
Focus group/meeting among
academic advisors highlighting
strengths and areas of
opportunity in academic
advising techniques needed to
increase African-American male
student retention
Internal Outcomes
1.Academic advisors
become more
knowledgeable of issues
that affect department
efficiency
One senior advisor attends
quarterly scheduled SSC
meetings
Create a plan of action for
senior level advisor to represent
DoT on a state level to organize
notes to report back
2. Academic advisors
become knowledgeable of
issues that impact
leadership from
examining the campus
culture
Three out of six academic
advisors attend campus culture
retreat
Leadership selects academic
advisors, one tenured, one
newly assigned to DoT to speak
on campus experiences, specific
experiences that have impacted
student retention of the ones
they advise

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3. Academic advisors
become more
knowledgeable on
department issues that
affect communication
within the DoT
Each of the six academic
advisors Suggest meetings with
department dean one time a
semester
Strengthening relationships and
communication techniques
between advisors and leadership
4. Academic advisors
outsource for professional
development opportunities
to enhance academic
advising styles
Two seminars, one professional
development workshop per
academic year
Academic advisors use advisor
group resources to obtain
information on workshops and
seminars designed to enhance
advisor skill levels

Level 3: Behavior
Academic Advisors have been chosen as the stakeholder group to address the
behavior as an early indicator attributing to the lack of African-American male
undergraduate student retention. The first behavior is reflection-on-action on advising
appointments with African-American male undergraduate students. The second behavior
is sharing information amongst academic advisors on the real-world issues that African-
American male undergraduate students face while attending Sugar Grove. Finally, the
third behavior is for academic advisors to identify early indicators that show lack of trust
from African-American male undergraduate students while building relationships in
appointments. Table 14 below highlights the required behaviors, metrics, methods and
timing for evaluation.

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Table 14
Critical Behaviors, Metrics, Methods, and Timing for Evaluation
Critical Behavior Metric(s) Method(s) Timing
Reflection-on-action
on advising
appointments with
African-American
male undergraduate
students
Metacognitive
approach to provide
feedback to 100% of
AA students on
strengths and areas of
opportunity
Providing dialogue with
director reflecting on
barriers faced when
communicating with
African-American male
students. Data will be
collected via student
feedback in SSC.
Monthly 1-on-1
with director
Share information
between advisors on
African-American
male undergraduate
student real-world
issues while attending
college
Number of unofficial
meetings between
advisors highlighting
African-American
male student outreach
Lead advisor
implements strategy to
provide a safe space for
advisors to discuss
knowledge barriers and
success in learning
about AA male student
issues
Minimum of two
meetings 30-90 days
apart with students
per semester/
meeting with
advising team
Identify early
indicators showing
lack of trust from
African-American
male undergraduate
students while in
advising sessions
Number of early
indicators indicated in
written feedback
during advising
sessions
African-American male
students complete SSC
sheet indicating number
of early indicators
discovered during
advising appointment
Meeting with
students 30-90 days
apart minimum two
times a semester

Required drivers. It is necessary for academic advisors to receive confirmation
from leadership in order to accelerate all applicable facets of required drivers in order to
meet the proposed performance objectives. This is significant because if academic
advisors are to meet the proposed performance goal comes the need of consistent
reinforcement, monitoring, encouraging and recognition from department leadership.
Table 15 highlights the required drivers to enforce the critical behaviors deemed
necessary to meet the stakeholder outcomes.

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Table 15
Required Drivers to Support Critical Behaviors
Method(s) Timing
Critical Behaviors Supported
1, 2, 3 Etc.
Reinforcing
Provide a comprehensive list
to DoT Academic Advisors
highlighting potential personal
barriers that African-
American males face coming
into college
Semester/ Project-Based 1-7
Provide advisors a
platform to communicate
barriers to other advisors
within the university regularly
seen that impact African-
American male student
retention
Semester 1-7
Provide department of
technology leadership follow-
up training that highlights the
academic challenges African-
American male undergraduate
student face post-acceptance,
that affect persistence and
retention
Yearly 2-6
Encouraging
Provide advisors
strategic modules from
advisors who have faced and
successfully increased similar
retention issues from different
institutions
Semester 1-7
Provide advisors the
environment to discuss
strengths and areas of
opportunity within the
department to leadership
regarding African-American
male student retention
Monthly 1-7
Rewarding
Performance incentive
when conducting advisor
evaluations highlighting
specific advisor impact on
Yearly 1-7

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persistence and retention
amongst African-American
male students on probation
Provide recognition at
various city and statewide
advisor conferences to
attending academic advisors
representing Sugar Grove’s
DoT when advisors exceed
organizational performance
goal
Yearly 1-7
Monitoring
Conduct meetings with
department leadership to
examine campus culture while
following metrics of African-
American male preparation,
performance and persistence
Monthly 1-7
Provide workshop
from outside training and
development resource to
successfully blend real-world
experiences that African-
American male students face
with
advantages/disadvantages
Academic advisors face while
adhering to Sugar Grove’s
cultural model to ensure
organizational stakeholder
goal of 90 percent African-
American male student
retention is reached
Project/Workshop 1-7

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Organizational support.
Sugar Grove will provide organizational support on critical behaviors via
reinforcing. Department leadership is accountable to provide reinforcement while
collaborating with academic advisors on how to enhance their existing skills set. By
doing the former, together all parties will become more knowledgeable on real-world
issues African-American male undergraduate students face pre-college and while
enrolled at Sugar Grove. Additionally, Sugar Grove will be better equipped to reinforce
policies and procedures that impact academic advisors’ ability to recognize early
indicators deemed impactful toward the student demographics’ collegiate experience.
Lastly, the organization will have more knowledge on specific training and development
resources when learning about critical behaviors.
Level 2: Learning
Post-solutions of reinforcing Academic Advisors critical behaviors on how to build
trustworthy relationships with African-American male undergraduate students. Academic
advisors will be prepared to; Identify early indicators affecting African-American male
students’ success in the classroom, reflect on signs that show lack of trust from African-
American male undergraduate students regarding discussing racial stereotypes, reflect on
strengths and weaknesses of communication between themselves and African-American
male undergraduate students, demonstrate effective communication between themselves
and colleagues regarding department efficiency specifically related to student outreach,
indicate disconnect between themselves and leadership while reinforcing department
expectation productivity, apply skills and department expectations acquired, and execute
principles to modify and grow campus culture.

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The Aim to Advance (A2A) program is recommended to empower academic
advisors to promote change at Sugar Grove. A2A is comprised of academic advisor
focus groups, academic advisor professional seminars and leadership workshops. A2A
focuses on addressing issues that impact the student affairs professional and student
relationship, along with communication and engagement techniques used to address real-
world situations that impede academic advancement, A2A is facilitated by former
academic advisors and training and development education professionals who specialize
in African-American male student persistence. Seminars will be held twice an academic
year, and each will last a total of two eight hour working days.
For professionals who are not available to attend the in-person workshops and
seminars, there is an online component available for completion. Sugar Grove’s student
success collaborative (SSC) houses the distance learning management system. Based on
the learning theory, the recommendation is to have the distance learning components
comprised of learning exercises, verbal participation, and multiple-choice answer
evaluation surveys focusing on procedural, metacognitive and conceptual knowledge
influences. In-person workshops and seminars will focus on examining how to identify
early indicators that deconstruct trust between African-American male undergraduate
students and academic advisors.
The in-person and learning management system component will be available to
each professional tier (academic advisors, directors and deans) of the department of
technology. Anderson and Krathwohl (2001) affirm that the object generally describes
the knowledge students are expected to acquire or construct. Based on the learning
theory, the deconstruction of current uniform approaches of student outreach is critical in
order for academic advisors to properly build trustworthy relationships with African-

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American male students. Resource guides and note-taking tools will be available for
organizing and structuring take-away moments as points of reference when academic
advisors look to apply best practices from the program.
Evaluation of the components of learning. When evaluating components of
learning, it is necessary to ensure the target audience is able to internalize and apply the
knowledge obtained over a period of time. With having a myriad of ways to obtain
knowledge, it is also necessary to differentiate the categories. Krathwohl (2002) affirmed
that knowledge is created in four different dimensions, starting with factual knowledge.
Factual knowledge is identified as the knowledge of specific details and elements.
Procedural knowledge is identified as the knowledge of subject specific techniques and
methods. Conceptual knowledge acts as the knowledge of categories and classifications,
and finally metacognitive, serving as self-knowledge. Level Two evaluations are
summative and formative, and may occur before, during or immediately after training
(Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). The timing of the evaluations highlighted in Level
Two are various per method or activity and are subject to not last for an extensive period.
Table 16 below lists the evaluation methods and proposed timing.

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Table 16
Evaluation Methods and proposed timing
Method(s) or Activity(ies) Timing
Declarative Knowledge “I know it.”
Knowledge checks on barriers African-
American male students face while attending
college using real-world scenarios
During mandatory academic advisor follow-up
sessions with director once a semester
(December 2019)
Knowledge checks using ice-breaker involving
areas that affect African-American male
student retention
During academic advisor focus groups twice a
semester (October 2019, December 2019)
Procedural Skills “I can do it right now.”
Pre-assessments gauging academic advisor
styles
Digital material given to academic advisors
starting at start of academic year (August
2019)
Post-assessment gauging evolved academic
advisor styles
Digital material done at academic advisor
evaluation sessions at end of year (May 2021)
Workshop showing training on how to identify
academic advising style
Mandatory training once a year with outside
educator (April 2021)
Attitude “I believe this is worthwhile.”
Reflection focus group conversation post
workshop
Seven days after mandatory training
Reflection post meeting with leadership 30 days after official meeting with leadership
(September 2021)
Confidence “I think I can do it on the job.”
Demonstrate “in-action” student facing
scenarios with colleagues acting as students
Professional development workshop (April
2020)
Survey post professional development
workshop
During summer orientation (June 2020)
Commitment “I will do it on the job.”
Informal meeting with director following
professional workshop, assessment with
outside advisor and focus group with
colleagues
July 2019 after first round of summer
semester/orientation
Official meeting with leadership following
meeting with director
Post-summer semester, 45 days after meeting
with director (August 2020)

Level 1: Reaction
Level one1 is derived from three methods used to determine the degree to how
participants react to the A2A programs’ relevance to their day-to-day operations.
Engagement, relevance and customer satisfaction as stated by Kirkpatrick and

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Kirkpatrick (2016) is the degree to where professionals react when finding information
useful to their jobs. Engagement highlights the level of participant interest in
understanding the knowledge given. Relevance focuses on how the various subjects
being taught directly impact the proposed participant outcomes. Customer satisfaction is
the level of confidence participants have after obtaining knowledge, and to what level it
can be applied to their professional acumen.
Krathwohl (2002) states that the intentional delay in time allows the learners time
to apply and synthesize. Opposite from Level three where typically the evaluation and
feedback timing are 30-90 days after a professional development learning event, levels
two and one’s timing is directly after the completion of training, exercise and/or
workshop. The shorter intervals in time in levels two and one are due to the examination
of summative data and after reviewing data, making adjustments where necessary. The
components that will be used for formative and summative data are as follows: training
and development sessions with outside advisor, pre/post assessment data, activities and
immediate reflection-on-action, online surveys and interviews. Table 17 lists the
methods and proposed timing for each method.

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Table 17
Methods and Tools and Timing
Method(s) or Tool(s) Timing
Engagement
Completion of training and development
“mock advising” sessions with outside advisor
During professional development workshop in
Fall 2019 and Spring 2020 (mandatory for
advisors to complete one)
Completion of pre-assessment prior to start of
semester
September 2019/ February 2020
Completion of post-assessment pre advisor
evaluation
September 2019/ February 2020
Completion of activities and reflection-on-
action feedback for outside advisor on campus
culture
During professional development workshop
Organizing informal focus group amongst
advisors in DoT to share information about
African-American male student retention for
previous semester
During winterIM semester (January 2020)
Submit to director and leadership data
regarding African-American undergraduate
male student persistence
September 2019/ February 2020
Director of Student Affairs schedules meeting
with Academic Advisors to discuss
productivity and implementation of skills
learned post training seminar
December 2019/ May 2020
Relevance
Communicate with fellow advisors regarding
efficiency and senior advisor take notes
regarding areas of improvement
After pre-assessment during semester (ongoing
fall 2019 semester)
Short reflective online survey for advisors After advisor evaluation (December 2019 and
May 2020)
Customer Satisfaction
African-American male students anonymously
complete survey on advisor sessions
Post semester (December 2019)
Select four African-American male
undergraduate underclassmen students to
interview with director
Post mid-terms (November 2019)

Evaluation Tools
Summative and formative data will be used for advisors after completion of each
reflection-on-action scenario in advising sessions with outside advisors playing the role

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of African-American male undergraduate students. Summative data will be completed
via survey documents immediately after academic advisors learn and re-enact various
real-world experiences that African-American male undergraduate students face while
attending higher education institutions. Leadership and training advisors will use a
quantitative data component which includes how long the mock advising appointments
are, how long specific topics are discussed between academic advisor and student, times
that students use to communicate thoroughly about the various situations that are early
indicators of attrition, as well as advisors’ responses and response time. The qualitative
data component will be used for depth of communication, any common themes that arise
between students’ real-life scenarios, and advisor responses.
Throughout each advising mock session, the trainer advisor and the director of
student affairs will house formative data via the reaction and relevance components that
make up levels one and two evaluations. Reaction such as body language when speaking
and actively listening, vocal octaves between student and advisor when expressing points
of reference, and overall relevance of discussion as it relates to the problem of practice.
Both components will be housed under quantitative and qualitative data. Quantitative
data will highlight the aforementioned categories: themes including eye contact,
discussion topics and application of information received from both advisor and student,
will be utilized. Post completion, qualitative data will highlight comfortability of topics,
reflection on where the academic advisor could have been more or less intrusive on
highlighted topics, and where the mock academic advisor gave off certain body language
and/or communication cues for the academic advisor to pick up on.
Delayed for a Period after the Program Implementation

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Due to the importance of implementation and evaluation, it is necessary to see
how the advisors will retain the knowledge gained from the seminars 90 days post
completion. By using the mock advising sessions as a foundational tool for skills and
knowledge, academic advisors will be evaluated on four levels. With level one being
previously covered, levels two and three includes academic advisors being measured on
confidence and application post-learning of how barriers of real-world experiences that
African-American male undergraduate students impact building trustworthy
relationships. Level four concludes with academic advisors’ ability to use student
outreach towards the organizational global goal of increasing retention of the targeted
demographic to 90 percent. An evaluation form including training knowledge and impact
on academic advisors’ skills will be curated using scaled and open-ended questions/items.
Data Analysis and Reporting
The Level four goal for leadership and academic advisors is evaluated by academic
advisors’ levels of increased on-the-job engagement resulting from participating in the
A2A program. Leadership will have access to formative assessments completed by
academic advisors pre and post attending the training seminar and will evaluate their levels
of African-American male undergraduate student outreach post program completion.
Academic advisors will receive unsatisfactory (1), satisfactory (2), advance (3) level grades
on each evaluation. Table 18 shows how department leadership will evaluate advisor
engagement using the four levels of Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick’s (2016) New World
Model.

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Table 18
Academic Advisor Engagement Evaluation
Advanced Satisfactory Unsatisfactory
Level 4: Results
Level of
engagement
when meeting
with leadership

Enhanced
advising skills
towards African-
American male
undergraduate
students

Level 3:
Behavior

Plan of Action
completion rate
with African-
American male
undergraduate
students on
probation

Communication
with other
academic
advisors

SWOT Analysis
with Leadership

Meetings to
discuss campus
culture

Tracking of
student outreach
in SSC

Level 2:
Learning

Attended A2A
Workshop

Demonstrated
Improvement
post A2A

Advisor value
and commitment

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to increase
student retention
Indicated
confidence in
skill
implementation
post A2A

Level 1:
Reaction

Indicated
motivation to
learn in A2A
Program

Felt A2A
Training was
instrumental to
growth

The table above showed the evaluation process that department leadership are to
complete with academic advisors by department leadership. The significance of table 18
shows how academic levels have used all steps required by levels 1-4, and how said steps
have been applied to their professional development. Department leadership will partner
with academic advisors to explain reasoning of unsatisfactory-to-advance levels chosen
when evaluation is complete.
Summary
Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016) new world model was used to combine the
levels one through four with the stakeholder goal of Sugar Grove’s academic advisors
achieving 100 percent student outreach towards African-American male undergraduate
students, and the organizational global goal of obtaining 90 percent student retention of
all African-American male undergraduate students. The model proved its relevance
where the backwards implementation of Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick’s (2016) four levels
of training showed if the training met or exceeded expectations from level four: results,
level three: behavior, level two: learning, and level one: reaction. The model showed the

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lack of necessity of having to wait until the completion of training to show its impact, as
it provided the platform to do so concurrently with the training. By highlighting needs
and expectations from academic advisors placed emphasis on their value, motivation and
knowledge on their experiences in the department of technology, pre and post program
completion. Moreover, highlighting Sugar Grove’s role in using the aim to advance
program to attain the proposed stakeholder goal of academic advisors reaching 100
percent student outreach to African-American male undergraduate students proves to be a
necessity to achieve the organizational global goal of attaining 90 percent African-
American male undergraduate student retention.
Limitations and Delimitations
This analysis was completed using a mixed methods strategy that included in-
person interviews, document analysis and a survey. As previously mentioned in chapter
three, I assumed the role of outside researcher and interviewer of this analysis. To
protect academic advising participants from being identified when discussing their
perspectives on African-American male undergraduate student retention, all potential
identifiable data from the interviews was extracted by a transcription system. As a
researcher with no previous experience working on Sugar Grove’s campus, I was only
aware of the lack of African-American male undergraduate student retention from public
data. Although I knew of the current retention numbers, it was initially difficult
obtaining richer information regarding advisors’ perspectives on how relationships
between department leadership and African-American male undergraduate students
impacted retention. For example, when advisors were asked about how do they feel can
leadership can better communicate with African-American males in order to increase
retention, they were vocal about how the uniform communication approach is viewed as

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unauthentic with African-American males, but initially did not go into deep detail
regarding how the former impacted retention.
Due to the research topic, the delimitations of the analysis were limited to
academic advisors in the department of technology and African-American male
undergraduate students. Data collection included interviews with six academic advisors
and survey completion by 45 African-American male undergraduate students were
completed over a 45-day period. Delimitations also included only interviewing academic
advisors in the department of technology, and topics centered on to perspectives from a
KMO lens that impacted African-American male student retention. These delimitations
were necessary for analysis completion but impacted the analysis. Department
leadership, African-American male graduate students, professors, and African-American
female undergraduate students provided their own perspectives about African-American
male undergraduate student retention but were not included in the analysis. Other
delimitations included the analysis being limited to one department in the university, and
a small sample size of African-American male undergraduate students. Due to academic
advisors’ perspectives about African-American male undergraduate retention varying
between institutions due to semester-to-semester persistence statistics and enrollment
numbers, the recommendations from this analysis could only show a high level of impact
if the institution had a comparable populated size and same demographic as Sugar Grove.
Future Research
Keeping the limitations and delimitations of the analysis in the forefront, a
number of recommendations are to be considered for future research. The first
recommendation is to propose a multi-year prolonged approach to use aim to advance to
reform advising approaches that current academic advisors use. This research would

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allow for academic advisors to be interviewed on an individual basis and have their skills
sets observed over time post completion of the program. Implementing this increases
value via professional development opportunities when completing evaluations with
academic advisors. The findings also proved the importance of being knowledgeable of
how academic advisors’ knowledge and motivation along with how organizational
influence impact African-American male undergraduate student retention. The findings
from this analysis uncovered that advisors who have knowledge about African-American
male undergraduate student barriers and improve communication is beneficial to the
target demographics’ persistence. In order to properly track the long-term impact of the
Aim to Advance program at Sugar Grove, it is necessary to collect additional data on the
affect academic advising has on African-American male undergraduate student retention.
Little has been done for academic advisors to be innovative regarding student
outreach, specifically towards African-American male undergraduate students. The
cookie-cutter aspect of applying, getting accepted, attending orientation and meeting the
academic advisor at orientation has done little to build trust and foster communication
between advisors and the assigned demographic. If future research does not modify this
formative approach in building relationships with students, additional research on
knowledge barriers will be required on how to improve African-American male
undergraduate student retention while enrolled in college. This would mean a departure
from the cookie-cutter meets uniform communication approach would be necessary and
would require a high level of buy-in within the department of technology as they are the
first department that African-American male undergraduate students meet with upon
enrollment.

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According to the SSC, over 63 % of African-American male undergraduate
students who attend Sugar Grove come from underserved communities and lower-tiered
high schools within 200 miles of the institution. As discussed in interviews with
academic advisors, lower-tiered high schools are secondary institutions in rural and/or
lower-class zip codes that house over 90 percent of African-American students who live
in the area. Moreover, said schools typically do not have the allocated funds needed to
prepare African-American male students to be successful in college. In this analysis,
academic advisors expressed concern on how these lower-tiered high schools place low
priority on students persisting in higher education but are more concerned with the high
school graduation rate. So, it becomes important for future researchers to identify issues
secondary institutions face such as school funding, and relationships with higher
education institution representatives who can come to high schools to connect with first
time in college black male students prior to graduation. Wood (2014) affirmed that in
terms of generation status, whether students have parents who have earned college
degrees, black males are much more likely to have parents who did not attend college. As
such, the overwhelming majority (75.7%) of black males are first generation collegians.
The ultimate goal is for Sugar Grove to become a university of choice to prepare African-
American male undergraduate students for academic and professional success. By doing
this, will spark change to the negative stigma that Sugar Grove suffers from having an
underwhelming black male undergraduate student retention rate.
Conclusion
Sugar Grove and numerous institutions of higher education have a similar issue
regarding lack of African-American male undergraduate student retention. This analysis
was formulated to evaluate academic advisors’ perspectives on this ongoing problem and

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uncover African-American male undergraduate students’ perspectives on how their
relationship with academic advisors impacts their retention. Academic advisors were
chosen as the primary stakeholder due to their accountability of building trustworthy
relationships with the targeted demographic. To find potential gaps in performance,
Clark and Estes’ (2008) gap analysis model was utilized to analyze knowledge,
motivation and organizational influences amongst academic advisors. Data showed that
African-American male undergraduate students felt advisors did not possess the proper
knowledge and motivational tools needed to build trustworthy relationships and
positively impact their collegiate experience. Academic advisors felt like they possessed
the knowledge and motivation to support their African-American male undergraduate
students but felt unsupported by department leadership in order to properly build
trustworthy relationships with the demographic.
This analysis has helped Sugar Grove’s department of technology re-evaluate its
relationship between department leadership and academic advisors along with advisors
examining their own value toward African-American male undergraduate student
success. The analysis identified performance gaps within the department that can be
addressed via professional development seminars and gaining knowledge of real-world
issues that African-American male undergraduate students face that impact academic
success. This study helped to specifically address the uniform communication approach
leadership has used for over 100 years since Sugar Grove’s inception, and how it has
been proven to be ineffective. Documents show as of Spring 2019, the department of
technology has a 54 % retention rate amongst African-American male undergraduate
students, (SG, 2019) the worst retention rate in the institution as a whole. The current
uniform approach to all students has proven to be outdated and does not encourage

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African-American male undergraduate students to persist throughout their studies.
Department leadership and academic advisors of the department of technology are
accountable to become more knowledgeable on issues African-American male
undergraduate students face prior to and while attending Sugar Grove, and how said
issues impact them academically. Academic advisors are accountable to remain
committed to minimizing indicators mentioned including but not limited to; culture
shock, fostering a sense of belonging for the target demographic to communicate freely,
and reflect on their own advising practices in order to address areas of weakness when
conducting student outreach.
It is recommended for academic advisors to remain confident in their ability to
find out what issues are impacting African-American male undergraduate student
retention, and value how their responsibilities as student affairs professionals impacts
retention. It is a necessity for academic advisors to use the knowledge gained and
maintain the needed motivation to work with the target demographic to turn said
challenges into believing that they can be successful, and be passionate in working
towards persistence. From an organizational perspective, academic advisors are to
improve communication with leadership, and examine campus culture, as all of the
former have been shown to be impactful on attrition. Finally, findings showed the
urgency for the department of technology to examine the current academic advising
approach. In order to see change as an organizational whole, Sugar Grove must be
committed to minimize the risk of losing time and resources, funding, and ultimately
uncover the underlying issues that contribute to the lack of African-American male
undergraduate student retention.

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APPENDIX A
Survey Protocol
A sincere thank you for your participation in this survey. The purpose of this
study is to evaluate how the academic advising relationship impacts African-American
male student persistence. Survey will ask questions about your collegiate experience and
perspectives on academic advising encourages persistence. Your responses will be
anonymous and any questions with potential identifiable information will only be used
for analysis purposes and will not be published. You have the option to not participate in
the study at any time with no further obligation. This survey should take around 10-15
minutes to complete. Your participation is appreciated in furthering research on the
academic advising-African-American male student relationship. In this survey, questions
will be asked both about student experiences in college and advising knowledge about the
barriers African-American males endure while attending college. This survey is revised
based on original surveys by Szymanska (2011), Cuseo (2003), Winston Jr. and Sandor
(1984)

This survey has been designed to enable you to share your perceptions about your
experience at Sugar Grove with your academic advisor. The below section encourages
responses on preparation, the second on performance and the final on persistence. Your
responses will help to evaluate how to improve the relationship between academic
advisors and the African-American male collegiate student demographic attending Sugar
Grove.

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Demographics:
Students
N/A
How old were you when you
started at SG? (18 or below,
18, 19, 20, 21, 22+)
Nominal Percentage

Table/ Bar
Chart
Demographics:
Students
N/A
I have attended SG for
__ semesters
(0,1,2,3+)
Nominal
Percentage,
frequency,
mode,
mean,
standard
deviation
(SD), range
Table/Bar
Chart
Demographics:
Students
N/A
Select the semester that you
first enrolled at SCG: (Prior
to Fall 2017, Spring 2018,
Summer 2018, Fall 2018,
Spring 2019)
Ordinal
Percentage,
Mode,
Median,
Range
Table/Bar
Chart
Demographic:
Students
N/A
What was your classification
(grade level) when you
enrolled at SCG? (True
Freshman (First Time in
College), Sophomore, Junior,
Senior, First Semester
Transfer Student, Exchange
Student)
Ordinal
Percentage,
Frequency,
Mode,
Median,
Range
Table/Bar
Chart
What is the
Academic Advisors’
knowledge and
motivation related to
increasing African-
American (used
interchangeably with
Black) male student
retention to 90%
(K: P)
My advisor connects me with
supportive faculty (Always,
Most of the time, About half
the time, Sometimes, Never)
Ordinal
Percentage,
Frequency,
Mode,
Median,
Range

Table/ Bar
Chart

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155
What is the
Academic Advisors’
knowledge and
motivation related to
increasing African-
American (used
interchangeably with
Black) male
undergraduate
student retention to
90%
(K: P)
My level of comfort of
discussing my professor with
my academic advisor:
(0.1.2.3.4.5)
Ratio
Mean,
Standard
Deviation,
Range)
Table/Bar
Chart
What is the
Academic Advisors’
knowledge and
motivation related to
increasing African-
American (used
interchangeably with
Black) male
undergraduate
student retention to
90%
(K: P)
My level of comfort of
discussing personal issues
that affect my studies with
my academic advisor
(0,1,2,3,4,5)
Ratio
Mean,
Standard
Deviation,
Range)
Table/Bar
Chart
What is the
Academic Advisors’
knowledge and
motivation related to
increasing African-
American (used
interchangeably with
Black) male
undergraduate
student retention to
90%
(K: C)
My advisor is culturally
component (Strongly Agree,
Agree, Somewhat Agree,
Neither Agree nor Disagree,
Somewhat Disagree,
Disagree, Strongly Disagree)
Ordinal
Percentage,
Frequency,
Mode,
Median,
Range
Table/Bar
Chart
What is the
interaction between
the institutions’
culture and context
and academic
advisors’ knowledge
and motivation in
achieving 90%
African-American
(used interchangeably
with Black) male
undergraduate
student retention?
(K: C)
My advisor helps me to
navigate the stressors that
come with attending college
(0,1,2,3,4,5)
Nominal Percentage

Table/ Bar
Chart

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156
What is the
interaction between
the institutions’
culture and context
and academic
advisors’ knowledge
and motivation in
achieving 90%
African-American
male undergraduate
student retention?
(M: SE)
My advisor listens to my
concerns: (Strongly Agree,
Agree, Somewhat agree,
Neither agree nor disagree,
Somewhat disagree, Disagree,
Strongly Applicable)

Ordinal
Percentage,
Frequency,
Mode,
Median,
Range
Table/Bar
Chart
What is the
Academic Advisors’
knowledge and
motivation related to
increasing African-
American (used
interchangeably with
Black) male
undergraduate
student retention to
90%
(M: EV)
My advisor refers me to
appropriate campus resources
(Strongly agree, Agree,
Somewhat agree, Neither
agree nor disagree, Somewhat
disagree, Disagree, Strongly
disagree)
Ordinal
Mean,
Standard
Deviation,
Range
Table/Bar
Chart
What is the
interaction between
the institutions’
culture and context
and academic
advisors’ knowledge
and motivation in
achieving 90%
African-American
male student
retention?
(M: SE)
My advisor helps me to
express my feelings
(0,1,2,3,4,5)
Ordinal
Mean,
Standard
Deviation,
Range

Table/ Bar
Chart
What is the
Academic Advisors’
knowledge and
motivation related to
increasing African-
American (used
interchangeably with
Black) male
undergraduate
student retention to
90%
(M: SE)
My advisor takes a personal
interest in my well being
(Strongly disagree, Disagree,
Neutral, Agree, Strongly
Disagree, Not Applicable)
Ordinal
Percentage,
Frequency,
Mode,
Median,
Range
Table/Bar
Chart

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157
What are the
recommendations for
academic advisors to
use best practice in
the areas of
knowledge,
motivation and
organizational
resources to increase
African-American
(used interchangeably
with Black) male
undergraduate
student retention to
90%?
(M: SE)
I feel my advisor is proactive
(Always, Most of the time,
About half the time,
Sometimes, Never)
Ordinal
Percentage,
Frequency,
Mode,
Median,
Range
Table/Bar
Chart
What is the
Academic Advisors’
knowledge and
motivation related to
increasing African-
American (used
interchangeably with
Black) male student
retention to 90%
(M: SE)
My advisor encourages me to
challenge the status quo
(Norm) (Strongly Agree,
Agree, Somewhat Agree,
Neither agree nor disagree,
Somewhat disagree, Disagree,
Strongly disagree)
Ordinal
Percentage,
Frequency,
Mode,
Median,
Range
Table/Bar
Chart
What is the
Academic Advisors’
knowledge and
motivation related to
increasing African-
American (used
interchangeably with
Black) male
undergraduate
student retention to
90%
(M: SE)
I feel a stronger sense of self-
confidence in my abilities
after seeing my advisor
(Strongly agree, Agree,
Somewhat agree, Neither
agree nor disagree, Somewhat
disagree, Disagree, Strongly
disagree)
Ordinal
Mean,
Standard
Deviation,
Range)

Table/ Bar
Chart
What are the
recommendations for
academic advisors to
use best practice in
the areas of
knowledge,
motivation and
organizational
resources to increase
African-American
(used interchangeably
with Black) male
undergraduate
(M: EV)
My advisor seems genuinely
interested in my success
(0,1,2,3,4,5)
Ratio
Mean,
Standard
Deviation,
Range)

Table/ Bar
Chart

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158
student retention to
90%?
What are the
recommendations for
academic advisors to
use best practice in
the areas of
knowledge,
motivation and
organizational
resources to increase
African-American
(used interchangeably
with Black)
undergraduate male
student retention to
90%?
(M: EV)
When participating in walk-in
advisement, my advisor does
not make me feel like an
inconvenience (Strongly
Agree, Agree, Somewhat
Agree, Neither Agree nor
Disagree, Somewhat
Disagree, Strongly Disagree)
Ordinal
Percentage,
Frequency,
Mode,
Median,
Range

Table/ Bar
Chart
What is the
interaction between
the institutions’
culture and context
and academic
advisors’ knowledge
and motivation in
achieving 90%
African-American
male student
retention?
(M: EV)
My level of comfort
discussing my grades with my
academic advisor
(0,1,2,3,4,5)
Ratio
Mean,
Standard
Deviation,
Range

Table/ Bar
Chart
What is the
interaction between
the institutions’
culture and context
and academic
advisors’ knowledge
and motivation in
achieving 90%
African-American
male student
retention?
(O: CM)
Select ALL statements that
apply to you and your
connection to your current
Academic Advisor (My
Academic Advisor was
assigned to me when I first
enrolled into SG, I requested
this Academic Advisor after
previously working with
another Academic Advisor at
SG, I have been assigned to
an Academic Advisor but I
frequently visit another
Academic Advisor, I do not
Nominal
Percentage,
Frequency

Table
/ Bar Chart

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159
consult an Academic
Advisor)
What is the
interaction between
the institutions’
culture and context
and academic
advisors’ knowledge
and motivation in
achieving 90%
African-American
male student
retention?
(O: CM)
My advisor clearly
communicates my
responsibility in my own
success (0,1,2,3,4,5)
Ratio
Mean,
Standard
Deviation,
Range

Table/ Bar
Chart
What is the
interaction between
the institutions’
culture and context
and academic
advisors’ knowledge
and motivation in
achieving 90%
African-American
(used interchangeably
with Black) male
undergraduate
student retention?
(O: CS)
My advisor refers me to
appropriate campus resources
(Strongly Agree, Agree,
Somewhat Agree, Neither
agree nor disagree, Somewhat
disagree. Disagree, Strongly
disagree)
Ordinal
Percentage,
Frequency,
Mode,
Median,
Range

Table/ Bar
Chart
What is the
interaction between
the institutions’
culture and context
and academic
advisors’ knowledge
and motivation in
achieving 90%
African-American
(used interchangeably
with Black) male
undergraduate
student retention?
(O: CS)
My advisor helps me to better
understand campus (Strongly
agree, Agree, Somewhat
agree, Neither agree nor
disagree, Somewhat disagree,
Disagree, Strongly disagree)
Ordinal
Percentage,
Frequency,
Mode,
Median,
Range

Table/ Bar
Chart

AFRICAN-AMERICAN MALE

160
What is the
interaction between
the institutions’
culture and context
and academic
advisors’ knowledge
and motivation in
achieving 90%
African-American
(used interchangeably
with Black) male
undergraduate
student retention?
(O: CS)
My Academic Advisor
answers my emails/phone
calls: (Not Applicable,
Terrible, Poor, Average,
Good, Excellent)
Ratio
Mean,
Standard
Deviation,
Range)
Table/ Bar
Chart
What is the
interaction between
the institutions’
culture and context
and academic
advisors’ knowledge
and motivation in
achieving 90%
African-American
(used interchangeably
with Black) male
undergraduate
student retention?
(O: CM)
My advisor allows me to
utilize as much time as I need
during my appointments
(Always, Most of the time,
About half the time,
Sometimes, Never)
Ordinal
Percentage,
Frequency,
Mode,
Median,
Range
Table/Bar
Chart
What is the
interaction between
the institutions’
culture and context
and academic
advisors’ knowledge
and motivation in
achieving 90%
African-American
(used interchangeably
with Black) male
undergraduate
student retention?
(O: CM)
Including this semester, how
many semesters have you
been seeing your Academic
Advisor? (0,1,2,3,4,5)
Ratio
Percentage,
Frequency,
Mode,
Median,
Range
Table/Bar
Chart

AFRICAN-AMERICAN MALE

161

APPENDIX B:
Interview Protocol
My sincerest thank you for being a willing participant in the interview component
of my study. My name is Mario C. McCoy, graduate student at the University of
Southern California Rossier School of Education and the study conducted today will
assist in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Education with
a concentration on Organizational Change and Leadership. As previously stated, my
study seeks to evaluate the lack of student persistence amongst African-American male
undergraduates. The purpose of today’s questions is to receive your insight and unique
perceptions that center on your academic advising expertise. Today’s interviews will be
conducted with the highest expectation of confidentiality as you will be given anonymity
and your respective college will be identified with a pseudonym. The study also seeks to
uncover how relationships between African-American male students and academic
advisors impact the student demographics’ retention. The aim of this research is to
document how relationships curated from individual academic advisor approaches are
applicable to address personal and academic challenges amongst African-American male
students, however, this study does not aim to uncover personal opinions on your students’
professionalism or academic acumen. Our interview today will last for approximately 60
minutes. I will ask about your perception on your respective colleges’ student outreach
towards African-American males, communication within the college amongst senior
leadership and student affairs professionals. Our interview will also address campus
resources, individual advising style(s), barriers to relationship building when advising
African-American male students, and any ideas you may have about improving retention
rates amongst African-American male students.

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162

Via email, you completed and returned a consent form confirming that I do (or do
not) have your permission to audio record our conversation. Please confirm your consent
to record our conversation today? ___ Yes ___No
If you have provided consent, again, sincerest thanks. Please communicate at any
point where/if there is any discomfort or uneasiness about recording a specific topic or
answer, and/or if there is any portion of our conversation that you would prefer to be off
the record and not included for data purposes. If you have declined for any reason, your
views are respected, and notes of the conversation will be taken only.
Before we start off our conversation today, do you have any questions or concerns
that you would like addressed at this time? If any questions arise at any point throughout
this component of the study, feel free to ask at any time as I am happy to assist wherever
applicable. If time begins to become an issue, we may have to accelerate responses to
complete lines of questioning in order to give priority and respect to your time and
professionalism.

Ice-breaker questions about expertise.
1) What is your current position at USG?
2) Have you worked anywhere else in the college? If so, where?
3) How long have you worked with USG?
4) What inspires you to work in the capacity in which you do?

Interview Questions
Motivation
1) Tell me about your advising role in the college.

2) Describe to me your communication with fellow student affairs advisors.

3) Tell me how leadership communicates with you to be successful.

4) How would you describe leadership’s communication with enrolled African-American male
students?
5) Follow up: Describe how do you think leadership should prepare advisors when advising
African-American males?

AFRICAN-AMERICAN MALE

163

Knowledge

6) Describe to me your advising approach/technique when advising a newly assigned African-
American male student.

7) Follow-Up: Can you provide an example of barriers that impacted your ability to build a
relationship with an African-American male student you advise?

8) Follow-up: What barriers do you believe African-American male students face that impact
retention?

9) How do said barriers lead to attrition (dropping out)?

10) How do you feel advisors gain knowledge of African-American male students’ needs?

11) How do you identify when a student is in need of assistance?

12) How do you feel about the percentages of African-American male student persistence?

13) Follow-up: How does your approach differ when advising African-American males who face
situations that affect studies?

14) Tell me about a recent time where you had to address a situation with an African-American
student that involved going above and beyond your job description?
Organization

15) How would you describe how the college communicates with the general student body?

16) Tell me how the college’s communication process with minority students?

17) Describe the communication process between your office and African-American male
students?

18) How would you describe resources at your college that encourages African-American males
to persist to graduate?

19) In your own words, describe how advisors gain a broader understanding of resources
available on campus?

20) Based on your experience, what is an ideal program that promotes student persistence at
SCG?

AFRICAN-AMERICAN MALE

164

APPENDIX C
Informed Consent/Information Sheet
LACK OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN MALE STUDENT PERSISTENCE
You are invited to participate in a research study. Research studies only include
persons who voluntarily consent to participate. Below will explain specific information
regarding this study. If any questions arise, it is strongly recommended to ask prior to
consent.
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
This study will examine the academic advisor relationship with the African-
American male student demographic in regard to persistence. It will examine advisors’
perspectives on African-American male college persistence. The knowledge gained as a
result will be used to evaluate academic advisor effectiveness on African-American male
student persistence on a broader platform in higher education. The study is being
conducted due to the increased enrollment of black males in higher education, yet low
graduating numbers.
PARTICIPANT CONSENT
If you agree to participate in the study, you are required to complete an online
survey via google forms with an estimated completion time of 15 minutes. You are not
required to answer any questions that you feel uncomfortable with. After completing the
survey, your anonymous answers will be reviewed in interviews with academic advisors
that will last no longer than 60 minutes. The interview will be audio-recorded and
advisors will also not be required to respond to any questions that they are not
comfortable with.
COMPENSATION/THANK YOU PARTICIPATION

AFRICAN-AMERICAN MALE

165

If 80% of the student demographic complete the online survey, pizza will be
provided at a subsequent, yet to be determined meeting. All survey participants will be
entered into a drawing for a $25 wal-mart card upon completion.
ALTERNATIVES TO PARTICIPATION
Your alternative is not to partake into the study. Your status and relationship with
the researcher will not be impacted whether you decide to participate in the study.
CONFIDENTIALITY
There is no information in the study that will make you identifiable as a
participant. The online survey will be anonymous, and the researcher will gather and
store data to protect confidentiality of answers. Your name and any other identifiable
information such as student ID and date of birth will not be required on the survey.
Answers from the survey will be kept for three (3) years after completion for subsequent
studies deemed comparable to this study topic.
The members of the research team and the University of Southern California’s
Human Subjects Protection Program (HSPP) may access the data. The HSPP reviews and
monitors research studies to protect the rights and welfare of research subjects.
INVESTIGATOR CONTACT INFORMATION
Principal investigator Mario C. McCoy email: mariomcc@usc.edu phone at
(414)213-4141 or Faculty Advisor Dr. Kathy Stowe at kstowe@rossier.usc.edu
IRB CONTACT INFORMATION
University Park Institutional Review Board (UPIRB), 3720 South Flower Street #301,
Los Angeles, CA 90089-0702, (213) 821-5272 or upirb@usc.edu.

Abstract (if available)

Abstract This analysis used a mixed methods system to evaluate the perspectives of academic advisors on the lack of African-American male undergraduate student retention at the University of Sugar Grove. Best practices and student outreach were examined via academic advisors’ ability to build trustworthy relationships with African-American male undergraduates. Student success collaborative digital documents were used to triangulate academic advising approaches and perspectives on African-American male undergraduate student retention. The findings showed that academic advisors lacked knowledge about barriers the target demographic face, and lacked the motivation to build trustworthy relationships via the organizations’ uniform communication approach when conducting advising sessions. Responses from black males who participated in the survey indicated that advisors were competent when conducting formative advising sessions but felt as if they are just a number and were not valued while on campus. Organizational accountability included addressing racial stereotypes, fostering an environment for the target demographic to feel safe on campus while addressing racial stereotypes, and examining campus culture were found to be detrimental towards academic advisors reaching the stakeholder and organizational goals. Findings uncovered a need for training seminars highlighting how to improve communication and collaboration between academic advisors and leadership on how to identify early indicators that lead to attrition rates of black males who attend Sugar Grove. The implementation of a multi-faceted long-term plan to enhance organizational effectiveness can spark potential to steer away from using the uniform communication approach, to a more forward-thinking, innovative approach to build trustworthy relationships encouraging African-American male undergraduate student retention.

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Asset Metadata

Creator McCoy, Mario Cortez (author)

Core Title Lack of African-American undergraduate male student retention: an evaluation study on perspectives from academic advisors

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Organizational Change and Leadership (On Line)

Publication Date 01/24/2020

Defense Date 01/24/2020

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag academic advisor,African-American,African-American male,evaluation,evaluation study,Male,male undergraduate,OAI-PMH Harvest,perspective,student retention,undergraduate

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Stowe, Kathy (committee chair), Mora-Flores, Eugenia (committee member), Robles, Darline (committee member)

Creator Email mariomcc@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c89-262324

Unique identifier UC11674882

Identifier etd-McCoyMario-8127.pdf (filename),usctheses-c89-262324 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-McCoyMario-8127.pdf

Dmrecord 262324

Document Type Dissertation

Rights McCoy, Mario Cortez

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA