Posted Thursday, May 17, 2012 --- 6:30 a.m.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Enrollment figures from the University of Wisconsin System show many more Native Americans are going to college. But their retention and graduation rates lag behind the overall student population.

The latest figures from the UW System show more than 1,800 Native American students were enrolled in 2009. That's 550 more than the fall of 2005. But the six-year graduation rate is 65 percent for all students and 40 percent for American Indians.

Ed Manydeeds of Eau Claire is the first Native American member of the UW Board of Regents. He tells Wisconsin Public Radio (http://bit.ly/J0dwJ1 ) that cultural differences can contribute to the retention problem. He says UW campuses need a center dedicated to American Indian students. Northland College in Ashland, for example, is opening an Indigenous People's Center.

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Information from: Wisconsin Public Radio, http://www.wpr.org

Copyright 2012. The Associated Press.