Introduction

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to provide educational opportunities for Black Americans, who were largely excluded from other institutions. HBCUs are still regarded as hubs for Black excellence and safe havens for Black students. But they have not been immune to the broader trend of declining enrollment among Black men.¹ In absolute numbers, there are fewer Black men enrolled at HBCUs than in the mid-70s.²

Figure 1

HBCUs have experienced an overall enrollment decline of 11% since 2010, consistent with trends seen across all colleges and universities. The decline in Black male enrollment is more pronounced, however, with a 25% decrease at HBCUs and a 22% decline across all institutions. While the percentage drop at HBCUs is only slightly greater than elsewhere, the impact is much greater on HBCU campuses, since Black male students make up a much larger share of the student body.

In recent years there have been some more hopeful signs. After significant declines in male enrollment in 2019-2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, HBCUs experienced an increase in applications and enrollment in 2020-2022, following the murder of George Floyd and in the COVID recovery.³ Enrollment among Black men has increased since 2020, outpacing other groups, although total number of Black men still remains below pre-COVID levels.² The question for HBCUs is whether these recent trends continue, or whether enrollment reverts to previous patterns.

DATA AND DEFINITIONS

Throughout this brief, we use data from Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS).

When we refer to Black students, they are students who have indicated they are “Not Hispanic; Black or African American only”. This classification is based on IPEDS reporting standards, which categorize students based on how they self-identify their race and ethnicity and is aligned with common practices. These practices yield mutually exclusive racial categories, and may result in a slight undercount of students who may consider themselves Black but fall outside the IPEDS classification used in our analysis. Conversely, Non-Black is precisely defined as any student who does not identify as only Black or African American.

HBCUs can uniquely support Black students

The significance of HBCUs extends beyond their historical role in providing access to education. HBCUs are uniquely positioned to address the specific needs of Black students, offering an environment that not only supports academic achievement but also promotes mental health, social mobility, and economic empowerment.

One study found that after controlling for student preparedness, institutional financial health, instructional spending, and other institutional factors, the graduation rate for Black students at HBCUs is 10 percentage points higher than those at non-HBCUs.⁶ The findings also suggested that HBCUs improve the graduation rate of both Black men and Black women equally.

Figure 4

HBCUs also play an important role in the graduate school pathway. HBCUs account for just 13% of 4-year degrees awarded to Black students, but HBCU graduates account for nearly 50% of Black doctoral recipients in agricultural science, 31% in mathematics, 23% in science and engineering, and 21% in psychology.⁷ ⁸ HBCUs have produced more Black applicants to medical schools than non-HBCUs, and they are responsible for educating 40% of Black engineers and 50% of Black lawyers.⁹ ¹⁰ Black HBCU graduates are also more likely to report having a better experience in college, receiving more support, and have greater social capital.¹¹

HBCUs enroll more lower-income students than non-HBCUs, and these students are more likely to experience upward economic mobility, as Figure 5 shows.¹² Students from HBCUs have upward mobility rates (i.e. moving from the bottom to top of the income distribution) about twice as high as those from all US colleges and universities. In addition, over half of HBCU students experience at least some upward economic mobility (up at least one income quintile), a rate which is about 50% higher than all US colleges and universities.

Figure 5

Black students who attend HBCUs have higher levels of self-esteem and report fewer depressive symptoms compared to those attending non-HBCUs, according to some research.¹³ ¹⁴ This may be attributed to the stronger sense of belonging and cultural affirmation that Black students often experience at HBCUs.¹⁵ ¹⁶ These may in turn contribute to enhanced later academic achievement, social capital and post-graduation success.¹⁷

It is not all good news, of course. There is some evidence that wages for HBCU graduates have risen more slowly than for Black students at other institutions.¹⁸ Students attending HBCUs also accumulate more college tuition debt and have lower rates of repayment.¹⁹ These trends point to potential areas where HBCUs may benefit from more support, especially in terms of funding.