Sacramento State’s recruitment of minorities appears to be paying dividends lately, especially for black students.

Barbara Sloan, associate director of Outreach Services at Sac State, said while enrollment growth occurred for all minority groups from last semester to this semester, the number of black students has gone up drastically.

The black student population surged 11 percent, to 6.91 percent, for the spring 2006 semester, Sloan said.

This increase came after Sac State’s percentage of black students reached its highest point in the previous six years.

Black students made up 6.35 percent of all students in 2005, surpassing the 6.22 percent that they totaled in 2000, according to the Office of Institutional Research, which uses the term “African Americans.”

Sloan credits Sac State’s outreach to minorities living in the 12 surrounding counties that feed into the university for the improving statistics.

“We get a diverse population because the region is diverse and we do presentations to the different groups,” Sloan said.

On Saturday and Sunday, Sac State attended Black Expo, held at Cal Expo, to seek out prospective students. Sloan said the event was a good way for admissions counselors to talk to families and students about the opportunities available at Sac State.

The California State University system is also making an effort to boost the enrollment of black students for its 23 campuses.

On Sunday, CSU Chancellor Charles B. Reed, accompanied by seven Southern California campus presidents, spoke at seven “African American churches” throughout the Los Angeles area, according to a CSU press release.

The event, called “CSU Super Sunday,” was intended to reach out to parents and students in the community and encourage them to consider attending a CSU campus.

Bishop Charles E. Blake, pastor of the West Angeles Church, helped organize the event that included outreach efforts and the use of the CSU Mentor ?” a virtual tour that helps students apply for college.

Of 405,000 undergraduate students enrolled at CSU campuses, 6 percent are black and 1.77 are black males, according to the press release.

“This is deplorably low and the churches and the CSU are combining energies to bring this message to the congregation, parents, students and community leaders,” Reed said in a statement.

In order to comply with Proposition 209, Sloan said that Sac State doesn’t engage in publicity that targets specific minority groups, but rather Sac State is at events where minority groups will be.

With the inherent diversity of the Sacramento region (Grant Unified School District is 90 percent minority students, Sloan said), minority groups present at local events give Sac State a large pool from which to recruit minority students.

“At Sac State we want to reflect what is in our service region,” Sloan said. “Making sure people who live in this area get the CSU and Sac State message is the goal.”

Sac State will be delivering that message March 2-4 at Arco Arena during the “College Alley” event for high school athletes, which Sloan said that this is a prime place for Sac State to reach many minority students.

Sac State also works directly with high schools and community colleges to boost minority enrollment.

Sloan said that campus liaisons serve 110 high schools in the region and use presentations, talks with parents, transcript reviews and campus tours to entice students to Sac State.

Sac State regularly attends community college “College Fairs” across Northern California.

Norm Erickson can be reached at [email protected]