Focus on HBCUs
Friday, August 26, 2005
Earlier in the month, the New York Times’ Freedman wrote about startlingly low graduation rates at some Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Reprinted here, the article reports that HBCUs have 6-year graduation rate of 38%, which lags slightly behind the 40% 6-year graduation rate of Black students at all other institutions. Freedman argues that the low graduation rate in HBCUs amounts to “a little noticed crisis” in institutions that educate a disproportionate number of the nation’s Black college students (1 in 10 Black college students attends an HBCU).
Two thoughts come to mind. First is that, despite Freedman’s designation of “crisis,” the difference between overall graduation rates of 38 and 40 percent is not huge. What is significant and deserves attention is the national gap in 6-year graduation rates by race (Asian, 63%, White 57%, Hispanic 45%, Black 38%, Native American, 37% in 2002). Second, HBCUs have been historically marginalized and lag behind other institutions in terms of resources, so the fact that their outcomes are nearly on par with other institutions could be seen to mean that they’re actually doing more with less.
The Washington Monthly made a point along these lines earlier this week, as an aside to their newly devised college rankings. HBCUs actually graduate higher percentages of students than you'd expect, given the mostly socio-economically disadvantaged students they serve. Predicted rate is calculated using multiple regression on national data, and it’s an interesting concept. Full blog entry here.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the signing of the first Presidential executive order on HBCUs, and from September 11-14, the President’s Board of Advisors on HBCUs will be hosting a conference here in DC. Since HBCUs serve a considerable proportion of Black college students, they are a prime target for efforts towards higher ed equity. Will the proceedings get media attention, or is this interest in HBCUs just a blip on the higher ed screen?
More on the history of HBCUs at the United Negro College Fund website.
