Is your HBCU Helping and preparing you?

Historically Black Colleges and Universities better known as an HBCU became a great pride for the African American community back in 1964. HBCU’s are special institutions designed to provide a post-secondary education to the black community, which have several majors, and programs which include a variety of medical curriculum, and prestigious law programs. HBCU’s are currently suffering with a number of educational issues. What separates them from regular colleges, universities, or predominantly white institutions (PWI) one might ask, that would be the challenges that they face. The historically black universities have a continually dropping graduation rate, the enrollment numbers constantly decline, and there is a constant financial and affordability issues for about 60 percent of the students enrolled. Despite these problems and challenges, African American students that attend a predominantly black university will be more than likely to succeed better than those who graduate from regular colleges, universities, or PWI’s. In a study collected by Sean Seymour and Julie Ray of Gallup.com, African American students are proven to thrive more from graduating from a HBCU rather than anywhere else. The findings were provided from the Gallup-USA Funds Minority College Graduates Report, which takes place between the years 2014 and 2015. There were 55,812 college graduates aged 18 and older surveyed and tested. Of the 55,812 surveyed, 520 were black graduates of HBCUs and 1,758 black graduates of other colleges. From then on, they were split into different categories, surveyed and tested from their social, physical and mental levels. Black graduates of HBCUs are most likely to be thriving in social, 54 percent higher than black graduates from non HBCU’s. This is mainly because of the culture of the universities itself. Since the universities are predominantly black, most of the students learn and develop social skills easier, which makes it easier to communicate with and individual or a group of individuals easier. Another factor that plays a difference in the success of an HBCU college student would be the teacher student interaction. In a HBCU there are generally about 300,000, students. In a class room, the numbers can vary from 25-75 but rarely surpasses 100, whereas in a PWI, a black student might encounter a class about 100-600 students depending on the class. A statement was surveyed in the study that states “My professor at My University cared about me as a person.”, in this case, 58 percent of HBCU students said yes, and only 25 percent agreed to the same case. The study succeeds so well for an HBCU student because of the class size in a HBCU. The professor is able to at least remember your face, if not your name where as in other universities you might just be another number and last name to them. It is not only a privilege and pride to attend a Historically Black College and University, for its heritage, and history but it also pays off in the long run.