Underfunded Black colleges and universities need congressional support

Over the past decade, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have received increased attention as a critical piece of the nation’s postsecondary landscape. As drivers of economic activity of nearly $15 billion annually, calls to support HBCUs at the state level have grown. However, this renewed attention has also renewed focus on the systemic underfunding of HBCUs over the last century.

Too often, partisan lines hinder legislation at the cost of our students. At the Hunt Institute, a nonprofit focused on education reform through research and policy support, where I am president and CEO, we have seen success at the K-12 level with legislators approaching education legislation from a data-informed nonpartisan lens. The higher education space can learn from these successes.  

With the impending college enrollment cliff of 2027 approaching and the need to increase postsecondary attainment to meet workforce needs, HBCUs — and their Minority-Serving Institution (MSI) counterparts — are critical for the sustained future of state economies and higher education. As a result, supporting HBCUs and MSIs must be a bipartisan agenda moving forward, and several states offer a glimpse of what’s possible when legislators work together.  

HBCUs’ Impact on America

HBCUs are institutions established in the early 19th century to ensure states provided equal opportunity to higher education for Black Americans. Today, there are 107 HBCUs providing educational opportunities for all races and ethnicities, though most students enrolled are Black.

HBCUs generate $14.8 billion in total economic impact and produce more than 130,000 jobs for their local and regional economies. HBCUs are also drivers of employment, as 75 percent of all Black Americans holding a doctorate degree, 75 percent of all Black officers in the armed forces and 80 percent of all Black federal judges received HBCU undergraduate training. 

HBCUs and MSIs also serve a disproportionate number of students from low-income or under-resourced backgrounds, developing them into successful employees who otherwise may not have pursued higher education. In addition, HBCUs and MSIs can help prepare students for careers in which professionals of color are underrepresented, such as the medical profession or entrepreneurship. Finally, HBCU tuition rates are nearly 30 percent lower in comparison to peer institutions, which can lead to lower levels of student debt, ultimately helping to narrow the racial wealth gap. 

Considering the influence HBCUs have on our nation’s society, imagine the possibilities when they are fully funded. In one of our recent issue briefs, we found between 2010 and 2012, 61 percent of land-grant HBCUs did not receive sufficient funding to meet the one-to-one match compared to their peer land-grant Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs). The lack of matching by states, unfortunately, led to many HBCUs being under-resourced, affecting student and academic life.

As the U.S. experiences a shift in student demographics, policymakers must work together to advance the mutual interest of postsecondary education in order to serve a larger number of Black, Indigenous, people of color, adult learners and low-income and rural students.

Below we offer three strategies for policymakers to consider as they develop strategies to support HBCUs. 

Expand Understanding and Support of Minority Serving Institutions

HBCUs are just one of the many Minority Serving Institutions that make up the higher education system, and situating HBCUs within the greater conversation of all MSIs can further advance discussions and create a larger coalition.

MSIs are colleges and universities that serve a certain student population and are distinctive in their missions and daily operations. The Hunt Institute’s map of MSIs across the nation shows just how important MSIs are to the fabric of American higher education.

While HBCUs gained their designation at their inception, most MSIs receive their distinction, and additional access to federal funding, by meeting a threshold in student population enrollment. MSI designations include institutions that serve predominantly Black, Native American, Asian, Pacific Islander or Hispanic students. As of 2020, the U.S. was home to more than 700 MSIs, serving over 6.5 million students, with additional institutions gaining designation each year. 

As policymakers seek to build coalitions for support, understanding the entire landscape of a state’s postsecondary institutions allows for the opportunity to build larger, more bipartisan coalitions.  

Garnering Bipartisan Support from the Beginning

Supporting HBCUs and MSIs must be an ongoing discussion that includes all parties from inception. Elected officials with HBCUs in their districts should consider how to fully fund or reward the institutions for good work, growing their economic impact. By engaging all policymakers with HBCUs and MSIs in their district, state legislatures are likely to gain bipartisan support. 

As seen in The Hunt Institute’s review of Tennessee’s bipartisan legislation to support HBCUs, their work to reach a $250 million settlement was successful because of bipartisan buy-in. A six-person bipartisan bicameral committee was formed to investigate why Tennessee State University never received its full matching funding as dictated by land-grant laws. The bipartisan commission committee created champions on both sides of the aisle, leading to more successful negotiations.

The Hunt Institute’s review of Maryland and its legal battle to address underfunding its HBCUs showed the legal system can be slow-moving. Maryland found near unanimous support through its legislative system for a $577 million settlement that will be used to sustain and enhance Maryland’s HBCUs. Even Georgia’s most recent HBCU study committee, chaired by Hunt-Kean Leadership Fellow, Georgia state Sen. Sonya Halpern, shows states are dedicated to having robust conversations around higher education funding.

There are numerous strategies to support our country’s HBCUs to remedy historic underfunding, with the aim to bolster and uplift the institutions’ futures. Articulating the return on investment, economic mobility and community impact of these institutions makes the conversation ever more important for elected officials who represent these districts. States are laying the blueprints for this work, but the only way to see nationwide success is through bipartisan unity and leadership.

Javaid Siddiqi is the president and CEO of the Hunt Institute.