Historically Black Colleges and Universities (better known as HBCUs) have played a major role in the education and successes of African American students throughout the years that wanted to get that educational piece of the pie that they seldom receive at mostly white colleges and universities. Here are four reasons why HBCUs remain more relevant than ever, and are essential to advancing America’s future.
1.) Outsized Impact and Low Cost: Today, the nation’s 106 HBCUs make up just 3% of America’s colleges and universities, yet they produce almost 20% of all black graduates and 25% of black American graduates in the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering and math.
2.) Meeting the needs of Low Income and First Gen Students: HBCUs provide a stable and nurturing environment for those most at risk of not entering or completing college: low income, first generation college students. Many of them are unprepared for college yet they’re the ones that the country needs the most.
3.) Lower costs narrow the racial wealth gap: Though 43 million Americans across the racial and socioeconomic spectrum have nearly $1.3 trillion in college loans, black households are far more likely to have student debt at all income levels. About 54% of African Americans between the ages of 25 and 40 have student loans, compared with 39% of whites.
4.) Campus climate fosters success: We have all known for years that students of color feel more at home and perform better in schools where they feel supported and safe. The student environment fit is very important for student success. A recent report reaffirmed just how important campus climate is to student outcomes. The Gallup-Purdue Poll noted that black graduates of HBCUs are more likely to have felt support while in college and to be thriving afterwards than their black peers who attend mostly white institutions.
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