GEORGIA HIGHLANDS COLLEGE RECEIVES GRANT TO INCREASE MINORITY MALE RETENTION AND GRADUATION RATES

The University System of Georgia has awarded Georgia Highlands College a grant of $30,000 to continue building its program for minority male students.  According to a GHC media release, the USG began an initiative in 2003 to improve the enrollment, retention and graduation rates of this population.  Each institution has created its own program to address the issue of these students whose college success has lagged behind other student cohorts.  GHC’s program is called Georgia Highlands African-American Male and Minority Excellence (GHAME) and started in 2008 with only seven students on the Floyd campus.  Today, the program serves 110 young men from all GHC sites.  The program is headed up by GHC dean of the Humanities Division, Dr. John Hershey.  Since the program’s inception, GHC has seen a rise in the rentention and graduation rates for minority males.