, interim director of the Frederick D. Patterson Research Institute at the United Negro College Fund, Inc., the nonprofit organization that advocates for its 37 private HBCU members. “We are capturing the imagination of students who are questioning whether or not going to college.”
New research from the National Student Clearinghouse confirms the growing interest in HBCUs. As higher education enrollment overall continues to decline, undergraduate enrollment at HBCUs has so far increased 2.5% this fall, driven by a 6.6% increase in first-year students, researchers found . , president of University of Maryland Eastern Shore, said her university is one that has benefited from the growing interest in HBCUs. Anderson recently toldthat after several years of enrollment declines, the university welcomed its largest freshman class since 2015 this fall of 733 first-year students, bringing total enrollment to 2,520 students. She added that investments in marketing, technology and transfer pipelines from community colleges are starting to pay off.