Basic economics dictates that any college or university looking to stay vibrant in a struggling higher education financial culture won’t be able to maintain without a healthy racial balance in its recruitment outlook.
Predominantly white schools need more minorities, and historically black colleges and universities need more white students to meet their funding needs. But a new report from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce reveals why HBCUs are focused on recruiting non-black students.
Nearly 70 percent of the 500,000 high-achieving high school graduates from low-income households who do not earn a college degree or postgraduate credential are white. Only eight percent are black.
The percentages on the type of students HBCUs are likely to attract, and who are likely to seek the affordability and accessibility offered by HBCUs, at least in this group, trend towards HBCUs pursuing greater diversity.
That pursuit remains a struggle for the proud campuses which continue to thrive among black supporters, in part, because of the rise of American racism in popular culture.
But the numbers show that diversity is a worthwhile and rewarding chase for HBCUs.
