In the recent years, Historically Black Colleges and Universities have undergone many trials when it comes to education, accreditation, and meeting the needs of its students. Louisiana schools such as LSU and Southern University have increased fees by 5% in the last year. According to the Advocate, Governor John Bel Edwards has done an exemplary job of not increasing budget cuts in the last two years and upcoming years.
However, the report also issues a statement from President Ray Belton that goes as follows, “While we recently celebrated the Legislature’s passage of a standstill budget — not to be confused with full funding — for higher education, this budget does not take into account mandated costs.”
To understand the inner workings of the bill, one must first understand the meaning of “mandated costs.” These costs include the use of technology, health resources, and other on-campus obligations such as activities and the upkeep of buildings.
In spite of the payment of general cost of admissions and campus fees, there is still a need for funding programs and renovations to create advantageous places of learning that would be beneficial for faculty, staff, and students alike. Examples of those needs include updated facilities, state of the art dormitories, improved roads and infrastructure, more certification and program opportunities, scholarship opportunities for lower income students, and supplemental education grants.
This is no new proposal, only an amendment to the Higher Education Act of 1965. This act came after the Land Grant Act that allowed black students to attend college with their white counterparts.
At one time, Alcorn State University was the only university open to blacks and operated using a land grant. That remained so until the Land Grant Act passed in 1890, requiring states to open their land grant opportunities to black students or issue revenue to black institutions that served as funding for an alternative education open to blacks.
After the passing of the Land Grant Act of 1890, 16 other historically black schools were founded. However finances still remained a problem for these institutions. To rectify this in the following years the Higher Education Act of 1965 was passed.
“The Higher Education Act of 1965 was passed to strengthen the educational resources of the colleges and universities of the United States and to provide financial assistance to post-secondary students,” as explained by Investopedia, a financial vocabulary resource.
HBCUs are funded by the Title III which, “authorizes both mandatory and competitive funds for undergraduate, graduate and professional programs at eligible institutions “to strengthen academic, administrative, and fiscal capabilities,” according to New America Publications, a resource used for policy interpretation.
In light of all these advancements for the funding of HBCUs the Renovation Bill was born. This bill was introduced in December 2017 and amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to modify the HBCU Capital Financing program. The terms of the adjustment is to guarantee low cost private loans to HBCUs for infrastructure repairs, maintenance, and construction, according Congress.gov.
As for the future of Southern University, this entails improvement of buildings, a more handicap accessible campus, improved roads, and overall maintenance. Even still, lawmakers and HBCU administrations have been working with the Trump administration to gain more support in the mission of HBCU upkeep and financial aid for students.
Zoie Harris, an Animal Science Major from Baton Rouge had this to say when asked how possibly the Reno Bill could help impact her university for a better experience,“The innovations should go towards new desks particularly in Hayden and parts of TT Allain, majority of our classrooms still hold desks from years ago when my parents were in school. Most of our buildings need new desks, but Southern has been a working progress moving forward with our infrastructure.”
Even though we have fighters in Washington defending the honor of HBCUs, there are things you can do individually as a constituent of the institution. Seek information about bills, amendments, and the university’s budget. After all, these are your dollars; witness them at work.