Recruitment and Retention of Black Students in Baccalaureate Nursing Programs

ABSTRACT The purposes of this study were to 1) identify the major factors that influence the retention of Black undergraduate nursing students in baccalaureate nursing programs; 2) compare and contrast the major retention problems of Black baccalaureate nursing students in predominantly white universities with those of all Black students in similar institutions; and 3) generate questions for further study in the area of student retention. The study used a convenience sample which included one private university and one public state university with baccalaureate nursing programs from the Eastern, Southern, Midwest, and Western regions in the country. Contact persons at each institution were asked to administer questionnaires to Black nursing students enrolled in the professional sequence of the curriculum, Black nursing faculty and administrators, and White nursing faculty and administrators. Data analysis consisted of a comparison between the responses of students, faculty, and administrators in 1980 and those of nursing students, faculty and administrators in 1984 to identified admission-retention barriers and possible remedies.