Post-affirmative action: The institutional action of a selective public university with successful outcomes for Black and Hispanic students

The researcher explored the problem of overrepresentation of qualified students from historically underrepresented racial groups in open access campuses and underrepresentation of these groups in the nation's most selective public universities (Carnevale & Strohl, 2013). As restrictions in the use of race as one of many factors in admissions continues to face challenges, this study will identify institutional actions that promote successful outcomes in enrollment, retention and graduation rates for Blacks and Hispanics at a selective public university campus.;The epistemology and theoretical perspective guided the researcher in determining the research methodology for the research study. The epistemology for the study is premised in constructionism and the theoretical perspective is critical inquiry. The researcher used purposeful and snowball sampling to identify the study site and study participants. The site selected is a selective public university that experienced increases in enrollment rates for Black and Hispanic students after affirmative action was eliminated in the state. In addition to experiencing increases in enrollment for both Black and Hispanic students, the study site has one of the highest ranking overall retention rates for Black and Hispanic students. Pseudonyms were used for the study site (Flagship University) and study participants.;Several institutional actions were identified in the single site case study to promote successful outcomes in enrollment, retention and graduation for Black and Hispanic students at a selective public university. These themes include Specifically Targeted Recruitment, Institutional Commitment, Financial Support, Student Involvement, Academic Support, Social Support, Faculty Pedagogy, and Campus Climate (Kuh et al., 2010; Tinto & Pusser, 2006). In addition, the researcher identified specifically targeted recruitment as an institutional action that promotes successful outcomes in enrollment for Black and Hispanic students at Flagship University.;Flagship University experienced some declines in enrollment rates for Blacks after initial restoration of the Black and Hispanic student enrollment rates post-affirmative action bans. However, Hispanic student enrollment rates have kept in parity with the growth of the Hispanic population in the state. A discussion of the explanation for those declines is documented in the findings section of the study.