This report provides a discussion of trends in minority student participation at colleges, statistical information on this topic, and a review of the trends and progress of initiatives at New Jersey's nine state colleges. Recommendations are provided for programs and approaches that will increase the likelihood that minorities will enter college and remain in college until graduation, as well as develop aspirations beyond the baccalaureate level to the masters and doctoral levels. The report confirms key obstacles to college enrollment for many minority students (especially Blacks and Hispanics), including lack of access to high quality academic preparation and the attractions of entering the workforce or military immediately after graduation. The report also asserts that retaining minority students in college until graduation remains a national economic and social problem, exacerbated by bigotry and the paucity of minority faculty and administrative role models. Individual state college efforts at recruiting and retaining minority students are also described. The report suggests that the future of the state and the nation will be determined by America's ability to cultivate a diverse, intelligent, and well-educated populace, and that efforts to open up the doors of higher education opportunity to all is in the nation's best interest. Contains 47 references. (Author/GLR)