BERKELEY, Calif. – Minority graduation rates at University of California-Berkeley and flagship universities across the nation are lagging, according to a study released last week by an education advocacy group.

The study, called “Engines of Inequality,” was conducted by Education Trust, an independent non-profit organization based in Washington D.C.

The organization gave the flagship university — the oldest and most prestigious — in each state across the country a report card on access for minority students and progress in access and success.

According to the study, in UC Berkeley’s class of 2005, the graduation rate for white students was 86.6 percent, while the rate for black students was 70 percent, 76.3 percent for Hispanic students, and 72.7 percent for American Indian students.

As the flagship institution for California, UC Berkeley received a grade of “F” for minority access, “B” for minority success, “A” for low-income access, and an overall grade of “C.”

The statistics in the report are based on the graduation rates of underrepresented minority students, defined by the organization as African American, Hispanic and American Indian students.

The report found that on average underrepresented minority students graduated at 84 percent the rate of white students at the nation’s flagship universities.

“Leaders of flagship universities should feel a special obligation to provide opportunities for talented state residents of all races and economic groups,” said the report’s co-author, Danette Gerald, in a statement. “But over time, that obligation has been replaced by the relentless pursuit of increased selectivity and ever-higher rankings.”

But diversity remains an important issue at UC Berkeley, said graduate outreach coordinator Gloria Chun. Chun is in charge of recruiting minority students for graduate education at UC Berkeley.

“The fact that my position exists tells you that (UC Berkeley) does care. However, we’re the flagship diversity campus in the nation, and as the flagship we should really be doing more. We need to be leaders,” Chun said.

According to the report, inadequate financial aid could be one reason why minority students are graduating at a lower rate than their white peers.

However, UC Berkeley received an “A” for low-income access as 34 percent of UC Berkeley undergraduates received the Pell Grant in 2004, while only 29 percent of undergraduates in California as a whole received the grant that same year, according to the report.

UC Berkeley undergraduates were awarded approximately $216 million total in financial aid for the 2005-06 school year, according to Cheryl Resh, the campus director of financial aid.

The campus’ low underrepresented minority graduation rates may be due more to the academic environment than to a lack of financial aid, Chun said.

The lack of a connection to the university contributes largely to the lower graduation rates of minority students, Chun said.

“(Minority students) don’t feel a connection with the educational process. They don’t see themselves reflected in the textbooks, in the professors, or in the classrooms,” Chun said. “If you don’t feel connected to what you’re learning, it becomes less meaningful.”