On the Chronicle of Higher Education’s “Innovations” blog this morning, Marybeth Gasman lists the major findings of the recent United States Commission on Civil Rights report on The Educational Effectiveness of Historically Black College and Universities as follows:
• Although HBCU students tend to have lower SAT scores and high-school grades than their African-American counterparts at historically white institutions (HWI’s), they produce 40 percent of black science and engineering degrees with only 20 percent of black enrollment.
• Faculty members’ dedication to teaching, student-support networks, encouragement to pursue leadership posts in their fields of study, and the availability and access of faculty role models help to explain the success of an HBCU education—both empirically and anecdotally.
• HBCU students are 1.5 times more likely than their counterparts at HWI’s to collaborate with a faculty member on a research project.
• Given lower funding levels and the underprepared nature of some students, HBCU’s are “doing a much better job” than HWI’s in educating African American students.
• Of the top 21 undergraduate producers of African-American science Ph.D.s, 17 were HBCU’s. Of note, many of those students would have been considered underprepared by majority institutions.
• Nearly half of the nation’s African-American teachers graduated from HBCU’s, though this fact is rarely acknowledged.
• Students without optimal academic credentials are much more likely to succeed at an HBCU because of the supportive environment.
• African-American students are more engaged, both socially and academically, on HBCU campuses than at HWI’s.
• HBCU students are more likely to give to charity and to be more politically active.
• HBCU students are more likely to participate in service learning and religious activities.
“One of the most important recommendations in the Commission’s report is for HWI’s to carefully study the success of HBCU’s, especially in the sciences,” Gasman notes, “and to emulate that success and the best practices that lead to it.” HBCUs, she concludes, “have much to teach us about educating black and low-income students.”
Do you think there’s a chance that the success of HBCUs, probably the least “diverse” institutions in the country (Spelman, 1% white; Moorhouse 1% white; Hampton, 3% white, etc.) might teach “us” that “diversity” — at least as defined by the HWIs that worship it — is not essential to a good education?
I don’t, either.
Not one of those 10 points addresses the question of whether HBCU graduates are in any way qualified. In fact, point 4 suggests that they are not. Nor do any of the points give evidence that a poorly prepared Black student is likely to learn more (not merely “succeed”, that is, graduate) at an HBCU than at an alternative institution.
And why don’t we ever hear about what a great job easy-to-get-into non-HBCU universities do at educating poorly prepared White students? Typically people just make fun of such places. An since when is participating in religious activities a standard by which we judge universities?
I blame a lack of diversity.