Presenters Mr. Justin Thompson Career Specialist Mr. Roger Fowler MTC Student, AAMLI

1. Presenters Mr. Justin Thompson Career Specialist Mr. Roger Fowler MTC Student, AAMLI Mr. Xavier Gantt MTC Student, AAMLI Art The of Mentorship

2. Over 18,000 credit students enroll annually • 100 programs of study • 1/3 of area high school graduates going to college enroll • at MTC • $90 million budget, $100 million in assets • 30,000 participate in MTC continuing education each year • 6 Campuses

3. Our Goal Student Success

4. Why Counseling and Career Services wanted to find ways to proactively impact students • Two populations were identified by departmental staff: • African American males • Students who were having academic difficulty • Sandi Oliver, VP for Student Development Services, supported the outreach directions chosen

5. Why • Number of African American male students going to college is low • Retention is low for African American male students • African American females attend college and graduate at approximately twice the rate as African American males

6. Finding Solutions Organized a committee in January, 2006 • Renée Bellamy-Coletrain – Faculty, Human Services • Henry Bracey – Staff, Counseling & Career Services • Vanessa Brown – Staff, Student Activities • William Goldsmith – Staff, Financial Services • Clarence Goodwin – Faculty, Computer Technology • Tara Y. H. Taylor – Staff, Counseling & Career Services • Ivory Johnson, III - Staff, Student Assessment • Paul Livingston – Faculty, Coordinator of Psychology • Phil Morris – Staff, Director of Counseling & Career Services • Marian R. Nurse – Faculty, Computer Technology • Justin Thompson – Staff, Counseling & Career Services • Leonard Waymyers – Staff, Assessment, Research, & Planning

7. Mission of AAMLI • The MTC African American Male Leadership Institute is committed to developing leadership potential and promoting academic and personal success among African American males enrolled at Midlands Technical College.

8. Objectives of AAMLI • Increase retention of African American males at MTC • Promote social responsibility in African American males • Strengthen and develop leadership potential in identified African American males • Create and promote network opportunities for future success • Promote effective communication

9. Beginnings • Began with first cohort in Spring semester, 2007 • Provided Conference on African American Males in Higher Education with 140 in attendance • Workshops for students • Informal mentoring relationships • Trip to Morehouse College and King Center • Business tours • Celebration banquet at end of year

10. On-Going Activities • Annual conferences • Monthly activities for participants to include: • Workshops on success topics • Visits to African American owned or managed businesses • Cultural enrichment trips • Visits to senior institutions • Mentoring • Counseling and career planning • Annual celebration banquets

11. Growth and Expansion • Monetary support from the college • Two AAMLI students are hired for each major campus • New partnership - Greenville Technical College • Over 150 participants through Spring 2011 • Over 200 students were served through programs annually • MTC Middle College outreach • Programs include: • Manhood: Identity, Purpose, and Direction • Social Responsibility • Financial Responsibility

12. Growth and Expansion • Students have become active in other clubs/organizations such as SAB, SIFE, etc. • Students recruiting students • Increasing visibility • TheMale Empowerment Task Force • Implemented a first-year AA male recruiting process during the summer in targeted high schools • Summer 2010 - AAMLI members called all new African American male students from Fall 2009

13. 17th Annual Southeastern African-American Student Leadership Conference March 26–27, 2010Midlands Technical CollegeAirport Campus

14. th Annual African American Student Leadership Conference Excelling with Class to Expand Our Knowledge in Health, Wealth, and Self

15. AAMLI Retention

16. MTC Retention • Fall 06 – Fall 08 • African American Males +4.8% • Fall 08 – Fall 11 • African American Males +3.2%

17. Challenges in Programming • Getting students to become involved in new initiative and not overwhelm them • Obtaining/securing support • Campus/local community • African American male faculty/staff members • Being flexible to change/alter direction as needed to better reach/serve students • Time commitment of/for participants

18. Overcoming the Challenges • Assigning responsibility with clear expectations and goals increases participation • Participation in the AAMLI increases connectivity with MTC • Focus on time management and strengthen communication within and outside of the organization • The AAMLI continues to successfully create network opportunities for participants that may not have occurred in any other organization • Students are increasingly taking leadership roles in promoting and sustaining the organization

19. Minority Student Graduation Rates • 5.4% Retention Rate Increase in 3 yrs. • + 8.1 % African-American Students • +11.2% African-American Women • + 3.2% African-American Men • + 2.4% Students Enrolled in All DVS Courses • +12.0% for DVS Students in the SOAR Program (over 5 yrs) • MTC was 1st in SC and 59th in the US in the number of African-American associate degree graduates in 2009-2010* *2011 Community College Week Annual Report

20. Where do we go from here? • Constantly making programming adjustments based on student needs • Ongoing evaluation and assessment • Creating future AAMLI chapters within the SC Technical College System

21. Thank you for your participation • Justin Thompson thompsonj@midlandstech.edu • Roger Fowler fowlerroger21@yahoo.com • Xavier Gantt xaviergantt@yahoo.com