OPINION:
Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have consistently “punched above their weight” against nearly insurmountable odds to prepare America’s Black scholars to enter society with a comprehensive education.
Their approach to learning has produced 80% of Black judges, 50% of Black doctors, 50% of Black lawyers, and 19% of the STEM degrees awarded to Black students. HBCUs meet the dual imperative of being culturally relevant and positioning students to be upwardly mobile both socially and economically. This in essence challenges the country to uphold its founding principles by providing a pathway for students of varying class and race to shift their station in life.
As the nation’s leading research authority on HBCUs, UNCF’s Frederick D. Patterson Research Institute (FDPRI) has launched “The HBCU Effect™” to source, fund and elevate studies that responsibly report the true purpose and significant impact of HBCUs.
The HBCU Effect™ research agenda seeks to understand, validate and promote the success of HBCUs with the goal of developing a counter-narrative that fully illustrates their value and competitiveness. Despite their role as a catalyst for educational, economic, cultural and societal gains for African Americans, HBCUs continue to lack critical resources, support and understanding.
The aim of the HBCU Effect™ is to offer evidence-based research that can support the legitimacy and success of HBCUs to the public rather than leaning entirely on anecdotal evidence as has been common in the past.
The HBCU Effect™ illuminates how HBCUs yield a high return on investment by equipping students (especially those who are first-generation) with key resources to close education and wealth gaps and by extension shift the trajectory of future generations.
Through research endeavors such as UNCF’s social mobility study, HBCUs Transforming Generations, the transformative economic impact of HBCUs on the lives of its graduates is highlighted along with the HBCU value proposition.
It has been proven that HBCUs graduate low-income students at higher rates than PWIs (Lee & Keys, 2013; Richards & Awokoya, 2012), while their students also report greater academic and social gains than their counterparts. For example, these institutions are top producers of Black STEM graduates, Black medical doctors and veterinarians. Yet, limited data exist regarding workforce outcomes for Black HBCU alumni.
By addressing gaps in knowledge regarding workforce outcomes at HBCUs as well as how social experiences and networks affect the academic and workforce experiences of Black HBCU alumni, we provide concrete and contemporary evidence for students, families and HBCU advocates to support UNCF’s collective mission.
In the spirit of elevating the narrative of the “HBCU family,” the retroactive perspectives of alumni were collected as part of a Workforce Alumni study to investigate the influence of HBCUs on workforce outcomes by examining the influence of peer networks on its students. In the summer of 2021, 1,761 Black HBCU alumni participated in a 10-minute survey. To promote participation and friendly competition among the HBCUs, FDPRI offered a $20,000 award toward institutional funding for the HBCU with the highest number of responses from their alumni. Florida A&M University (FAMU) won the competition with the highest number of participants followed by UNCF member institutions, Bennett College, Oakwood University and Xavier University of Louisiana.
In addition to the survey, approximately 40 participants expanded upon their survey responses in a one-hour semi-structured interview.
Overall, the findings indicated that HBCU students are very satisfied with their HBCU support networks. Fraternities and sororities, which represent one dimension of this network, are a major presence on the campuses of the nation’s 101 HBCUs and are particularly influential to alumni entering the workforce. Participants’ narratives also highlighted the support and impact of alumni’s peer relationships, friend groups, faculty and student organizations during their time on campus and after graduation while they were pursuing opportunities in the job market.
In the future, UNCF plans to promote a research brief and a comprehensive report detailing the findings from the study. Drawing from participants’ interviews infographics will also be made available that provide insight to first-year HBCU students toward maximizing their undergraduate experience and the parents who wish to support them.
The most recently released HBCU Effect research brief on HBCU alumni and their experiences in the workforce is a glimpse into the upcoming full report. That report will bring a deeper understanding by expounding on:
· How those individuals and/or organizations influential to their HBCU experiences impact their workforce development
· Additional context regarding participants’ background prior to and during their HBCU experience
· How HBCUs cultivated an environment for their success through collaborative HBCU networks
· Insight into how students built on the foundations of their HBCU experience for sustained career success
The HBCU Effect™ aims to become the authoritative source for philanthropists, educators, students, reporters and all others researching the latest information about the success of HBCU students, faculty members, the institutions themselves, and by extension their impact on the future of the U.S, and the broader global community.
• Dr. Nadrea R. Njoku is director of the Frederick D. Patterson Research Institute (FDPRI) at UNCF (United Negro College Fund) and authored this op-ed with Megan Covington, Ph.D., and Natasha McClendon, Ph.D., both of UNCF. FDPRI is the nation’s leading research authority on historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs).
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