The Voice, For Students, By Students c September 7, 2011 □ www.fsuvoice.com □ send news tips to the editor; thevoice.fsu@gmail.com
HBCU grad rates lag behind ‘PWIs’
by LAsia Brown
Managing Editor
Upon arriving at Fayetteville
State University, the class of 2015
was greeting with the theme, “Op
eration Graduation.” An attribu
tion to FSU’s updated efforts to
improve low graduation rates, the
theme also resonates with the na
tional historically black college
and university (HBCU) atmo
sphere.
Early this year Rick Scott, the
governor of Florida, made moves
to cut state funding to two Florida
HBCUs. Florida Memorial Univer
sity and Bethune-Cookman Uni
versity stood to lose more thai? 4
million in state assistance, though
the cuts didn’t end up being that
large. Although the institutions are
private, and private colleges and
universities are not guaranteed fed
eral or state assistance, the move
has angered students, alumni, and
leaders alike. It has also spewed
gasoline on the low-burning flame
that is the debate of HBCU rel
evance. Again, the argument of
whether or not HBCUs are still
needed despite subpar graduation
rates, has exploded.
Statistically, HBCUs are gradu
ating students at lower four-year
rates than regular, public institu
tions, or what some call, “PWIs”
(predominantly white institutions);
however, many say that the four-
year graduation rate is a non-factor
when compared to the position the
HBCU plays- in the Black Ameri
can community.
“Men and women who wouldn’t
normally be given a chance at a
regular university are given the
opportunity to
get an educa
tion at HB
CUs. Yeah,
it’ll take them
five years,
maybe six
years, but
graduating in
five is better
than not do
ing it all,” said
Keisha Wat
ford, gradu
ate of Morgan
State University in Baltimore,
Maryland.
The HBCU has a reputation for
accepting students who otherwise
wouldn’t have been able to attend
a university. Historically, that was
its purpose—to provide an educa
tion to those who legally couldn’t
attend other institutions.
Now, many HBCUs are doing
virtually the same thing. The only
difference is that students don’t
seem to be nearly as hungry for
education. And these students are
bringing down institutions’ reputa
tions with lackadaisical attitudes.
“We live in a time of choice
now. I’m not sure that the HBCU
is trying their best to communicate
that making [a] choice to do better
is [an] individual initiative, regard
less of where you come [from].
We have to start demanding bet
ter of kids at HB
CUs, because the
other institutions
are showing us up
in terms of Black
[grad] rates,” com-
mented Ralph
Morrison, recent
graduate of How
ard University.
F ay etteville
State University,
a public HBCU
and member of
the University of
North Carolina system, has gradu
ation rates almost identical to the
average UNC institution’s gradua
tion rate. FSU’s most recent gen
eral four-year graduation rate is 9.3
percent, just .5 percent lower than
the average UNC institution’s four-
year rate of 9.8 percent, according
to reports from the University of
North Carolina’s research compila
tion. The most recent graduation
rate for Black students at FSU is
8.9 percent, which is .2 percent
lower the average UNC institu
tion’s four-year grad rate of 9.1
percent for Black students.
Although Fayetteville State
University’s rates are not signifi
cantly lower than UNC system’s
for Black students or any other de
mographic group, the tiny percen
tile has vehement debaters on both
sides of the argument. If the HBCU
can’t graduate students at equal or
higher rates, should they continue
to receive equal funding?
“Well first of all, they don’t re
ceive equal funding. Fayetteville
State only accounts for I think,
like 18 percent of the budget, but
I heard we’re going to take a hit
equal to around 28 to 32 percent.
That is not equal and our rates are
not that different,” says an FSU
senior* who believes HBCUs are
necessary.
“Some students say having an
HBCU on a resume lowers your
chances of getting jobs because of
the reputation. I’d hope it would
depend on the job candidate, but
with everybody convinced we’re
in post-racial America, I wouldn’t
be surprised if it was true,” said
Seleema Jones, a Florida Agricul
tural and Mechanical University
(FAMU) junior.*
FAMU’s most recent six-year
graduation rate was 43 percent,
significantly higher than any UNC
institution and comparable to many
non-HBCU institutions around the
nation, yet FAMU students and
alumni have still expressed out
rage.
“The youth are not taking theii
education and college experience
as serious. It’s not just HBCUs!
Students of all races are graduat
ing at lower rates than 10, 20 years
ago because this generation has a
‘don’t-care’ attitude. Don’t make
this about HBCUs,” said anothei
FAMU alumnus and.current gradu
ate student.*
With tuition rising and financial
aid dwindling, many HBCUs are
also facing devastating cuts and are
trying to preserve the educational
experience for their students.
While FSU has had to endure a
15 percent budget cut, the univer
sity only receives about 48 percent
of its operating budget from the
state, meaning it must utilize fiind-
ing from private sources to main
tain quality of life and education
for students. Alumni funding to
most small HBCUs doesn’t rival
that of small general institutions.
“Nobody donates...White ce
lebrities donate to predominantly
white universities. Black celebs do
not donate in high numbers to HB
CUs. We have less resources so ol
course the grad rates are going to
be lower,” says an FSU alumnus.
“Only when it is equal funding will
it be equal rates. That’s just com
mon sense.”
Nobody, donatesn
White celebrities •
donate to
predominantly white
universities, Blaok
celebs do not donate
in high numbers to
HBCUs,
COUCH POTATOES
by Jovian Turnbull