HBCUs:
A National Resource

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are a source of accomplishment and great pride for the African American community as well as the entire nation. The Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, defines an HBCU as: “...any historically black college or university that was established prior to 1964, whose principal mission was, and is, the education of black Americans, and that is accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency or association determined by the Secretary [of Education] to be a reliable authority as to the quality of training offered or is, according to such an agency or association, making reasonable progress toward accreditation.” HBCUs offer all students, regardless of race, an opportunity to develop their skills and talents. These institutions train young people who go on to serve domestically and internationally in the professions as entrepreneurs and in the public and private sectors.

HBCUs enroll 14 percent of all African American students in higher education, although they constitute only 3 percent of America’s 4,084 institutions of higher education. In 1999, these institutions matriculated 24 percent of all African American students enrolled in four-year colleges, awarded masters degrees and first-professional degrees to about 1 in 6 African American men and women, and awarded 24 percent of all baccalaureate degrees earned by African Americans nationwide.

The majority of the 105 HBCUs are located in the Southeastern states, the District of Columbia, and the Virgin Islands. They include 40 public four-year, 11 public two-year, 49 private four-year, and 5 private 2-year institutions.

Other Resources:

National Association for Equal
Opportunity in Higher Education (NAFEO) • www.nafeo.org

Thurgood Marshall
Scholarship Fund www.thurgoodmarshallfund.org

United Negro College Fund (UNCF) • www.uncf.org

Excerpted from www.ed.gov, White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities