Strategies for Increasing Minorities in the Sciences: A University of Maryland, College Park, Model

Educational achievement in the sciences by minorities has not kept up with that of the nation. Although minorities make up about 25% of the population, many are unprepared to enter the sciences. The authors report here on their Prefreshman Academic Enrichment Program (PAEP) at the University of Maryland, College Park, which was designed to increase and retain the number of minorities in the life sciences. After 5 years, the authors observed the following results: (a) PAEP students were retained in the sciences and at the university at a greater rate than non-PAEP students who did not participate in the program, and (2) the graduation rate of PAEP students was higher than that of non-PAEP students.