Threat to Black Colleges
Well, the battle is on. Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour on Monday proposed combining the state's three public black colleges into one of the institutions, Jackson State University. While Barbour said that campuses would continue to exist at what are now Alcorn State University and Mississippi Valley State University, the proposal marks the most dramatic state challenge in recent years to the continuation of some public black colleges -- and the move comes in the state whose higher education system was the subject of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that governs college desegregation.
Proposals like this are not new. However, the struggle for financial and academic stability continues at many HBCUs. Despite nagging financial problems, accreditation troubles and relatively low graduation rates, historically Black colleges continue to remain an integral part of the educational equation for African-Americans and are growing in popularity, according to a comprehensive new study by the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.
This is a real challenge to the future of HBCUs. What do you think. Should HBCUs consider consolidation as a survival strategy? Click here to cast your vote.
Proposals like this are not new. However, the struggle for financial and academic stability continues at many HBCUs. Despite nagging financial problems, accreditation troubles and relatively low graduation rates, historically Black colleges continue to remain an integral part of the educational equation for African-Americans and are growing in popularity, according to a comprehensive new study by the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.
This is a real challenge to the future of HBCUs. What do you think. Should HBCUs consider consolidation as a survival strategy? Click here to cast your vote.
