The recruitment and retention of minority and disadvantaged allied health students.

Student recruitment and retention has been given high priority over the last several years. The School of Allied Health Sciences at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston has been involved in recruitment and retention programs that have produced minority student enrollment of over 20% over the past seven years. The programs are supported by federal grants that have provided seed money to design, develop, and implement three specific recruitment and retention programs. These programs have assisted in enrolling over 575 minority students with a retention rate above 90%. Graduation, licensure, and certification rates have been at or above the majority population. These programs are adaptable at other allied health professions schools and have been used as models for several programs across the United States.