A 4-year study was made of attrition and persistence rates of 17,677 freshmen degree-seeking students enrolled in Indiana state vocational education programs in fiscal year 1985. The present report focuses on the experience of the 2,187 black students in that cohort. The study's findings include the following: (1) among full-time students, the black dropout rates are about twice that for the general population; (2) dropout rates for part-time black students were higher than the rest of this population (for associate students it was 56% versus 50% and for baccalaureate students it was 43% versus 40%); (3) 83% of the black declared associate degree-seeking students were part-time versus 74% of all other declared associate degree-seeking students; (4) the rate of progress for black full-time baccalaureate degree-seeking students was slower than that of all full-time baccalaureate degree-seeking students; and (5) blacks are more likely to undertake associate degrees and to do so on a part-time basis where the odds favor their dropping out. Tables compare the experiences of black students in the retention study to those of the larger group. (GLR)