Black universities struggle with retention

Historically black colleges across the country have pointed to student retention as the biggest problem facing institutions today.

Graduation rates and financial aid shortfalls were also among the most pressing concerns for many HBCUs, according to a recent survey by the Society for College and University Planning.

The survey, which was sent to about 100 HBCUs in the nation, asked administrators to rate concerns on a varying scale of importance.

And almost all of the potential issues were rated as “important.”

“Most institutions are concerned about funding,” said Phyllis Grummon, author of the study, and director of planning and education society for College and University Planning.

A panel, composed of administrators at HBCUs across the country, came together to discuss the survey’s results and determined improving student retention as the key to the improvement of HBCUs.

One of the participants of the survey, Letitia Cornish, assistant provost for Academic Affairs at Winston-Salem State University, said student retention is important because it is tied in with graduation.

WSSU has been a university for those with few options, said Nancy Young, director of public affairs.

About 80 percent of WSSU’s students can’t afford to pay tuition, Young said.

For the 2011-2012 academic year, 13.8 percent of the school’s budget was cut, and a total of $31 million was slashed from its budget in the past four years, she said

“It all comes down to the dollars,” Young said.

Grummon said the main concern for institutions was building a financial cushion in the form of scholarships and endowments.

WSSU’s “Second Chance Scholar” award helps students near graduation who had to drop out due to financial circumstances. The scholarship is funded by alumni donations, Young said.

WSSU’s average retention rate from 2005 to 2009 was 73.9 percent and Elizabeth City State University’s was 76.2 percent in the same years, said Kesha Williams, spokeswoman for ECSU, in an email.

Williams said ECSU considers retention to be a issue, but it has outperformed other HBCUs in the state.

ECSU’s goal is to retain students so that they can reach their full potential, Williams said in an email.

Young said student retention is a problem for all public institutions, due to rising tuition.

But HBCUs might struggle more, due to their history and falling application numbers, Grummon said.

“HBCUs have special pressure as many people think that they have to be black to apply and go there,” she said.

Administrators at HBCUs hope to find a balance.

“We need to understand our more generic institutional identity but also service minorities,” Grummon said. “How do we understand our identity as a historically black university?”