The Black Business and Professional Association’s National Scholarship Program: An Evaluation of its Efficacy

Since its inception, the Black Business and Professional Association (BBPA) Scholarship Fund has awarded close to $5 million in scholarships to over 1,000 Black Canadian youth pursuing post-secondary education. The scholarship program is dedicated to supporting and promoting the academic excellence of Black youth, and redressing their low post-secondary educational attainment. Yet, little is known about the efficacy of the BBPA’s scholarship program in meeting its mandate. This research project will capture the experiences of BBPA scholarship recipients as well as those of high school students currently participating in its youth programs to understand how the Scholarship program and other supports affect Black youth’s post-secondary education plans, and their experience of, persistence in and completion of post-secondary studies. The findings from this study will assist the BBPA to construct new intentional programming, fine-tune existing initiatives, and build their capacity to tell their success stories in ways that are more sophisticated.

Faculty Supervisor:

Leah Vosko

Student:

Partner:

Black Business and Professional Association

Discipline:

Sociology

Sector:

Other services (except public administration)

University:

York University

Program: