Plan also aimed at helping minorities

Part of the University's initiative to increase undergraduate retention rates will focus specifically on underrepresented minorities, given findings that graduation rates for black and Latino students are lower than for other student groups. Among those minority students who leave Penn without a diploma, a "disproportionate" number -- about 50 percent -- have satisfied or are close to satisfying all of their degree requirements but are on financial hold, Deputy Provost Michael Wachter said. A significant reason for the high attrition rates is minority students' lower average family income, Wachter said. Financial difficulties can severely affect academic performance -- in the form of excess work-study hours, for instance -- and prevent students from graduating, he said. But with a new, more flexible loan arrangement, the University expects to deliver diplomas to most black and Latino students from past graduating classes who have fulfilled their academic obligations but still owe financial debts to the University. A statement from the Office of the Provost said "favorable terms have already been worked out for a number of students under this new arrangement." This single initiative should improve the black graduation rate by 3 to 5 percentage points by next year, according to the statement.