Frederick Douglass Library on the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore campus
In the past couple years, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have experienced an unprecedented influx of private and federal funding, while at the same time seeing an increase in student enrollment. While change is good news after decades of systemic underfunding, some HBCUs are seeking support to effectively manage the increased attention, and the resulting innovative ideas bubbling up on HBCU campuses. To manage the positive change and to ensure that the current robust period is not a blip, a small cohort of HBCUs have come together with the Partnership for Education Advancement (Ed Advancement) to implement significant infrastructure improvements so that more students have access to the HBCU experience in the future.
The HBCU cohort is introducing large-scale operational changes and upgrades to their technology to begin to catch up to their Predominantly White Institution (PWI) counterparts in areas such as recruitment, enrollment, student success, and fundraising.
Ed Advancement is a non-profit organization that provides colleges and universities with solutions that improve student outcomes and bolster operational efficiency. The organization’s mission is to advance social mobility for underserved students of color, especially those from low-income and first-generation backgrounds.
James Runcie, CEO of Partnership for Educational Advancement.
According to James Runcie, CEO of the Ed Advancement, “We have focused on partnering with Historically Black Colleges and Universities, which have been leaders in creating opportunities for these historically excluded and underrepresented students.” He added, “Ed Advancement provides resources and expertise that develops and improves the operational capacity and infrastructure of HBCUs. This allows partner universities to invest increased donations and other limited resources directly into student support and engagement.” As Runcie points out, the influx of funding to HBCUs has been meaningful but has not significantly offset the decades of underfunding.
Increased interest in HBCUs puts pressure on existing systems, which have not been prioritized as limited resources have been allocated to direct student engagement initiatives. Ed Advancement helps partner HBCUs manage new enrollment and retention challenges, improve student outcomes and meet donor expectations. These efforts are important in sustaining and increasing high levels of donor interest and enrollment demand.
Runcie shared, “HBCU leaders have a unique value proposition. We believe that the heightened awareness of HBCUs and their role in social mobility and socioeconomic justice should create sustained interest.” He added, “HBCUs are unique among institutions of higher education in their original and steadfast commitment to serving the Black community. The value of an HBCU resonates broadly.” According to research, HBCUs offer a community for learning, growth, and development that fosters lifelong confidence and success for students.
The University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) is one of the members of the cohort of HBCUs working with Ed Advancement. Through its involvement, UMES introduced an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot to enhance the enrollment process as well as the student experience overall. The chatbot handles admissions inquiries 24/7, which saves hundreds of staff hours on student support and gets critical information to students faster. The same system is being used for retention efforts, which enables staff to focus on higher touch needs of students.
UMES is also working with Ed Advancement on a persistence pilot that focuses on closing small financial hurdles for students to improve retention, particularly among college seniors as they near graduation. Funding through the pilot provides direct assistance to students while delivering critical information to UMES about how to identify and reach students who need this kind of support. Once the pilot is complete, the goal is to share the findings with other leaders in the HBCU community to produce greater resilience and persistence in students who can benefit from these smaller supports. The effort is paying off as this Fall UMES reached its highest first-year and new student enrollment since 2015.
Heidi Anderson, president of the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore.
According to UMES president Heidi Anderson, “The increased attention on HBCUs has increased interest from students and families. Students want to see people that look like them being successful in their chosen fields and HBCUs are certainly a mecca for that. We have had to reimagine our admissions office and student success office (Center for Access & Academic Success) to assist us in helping the incoming students. So far, we are getting good anecdotal results, but more time is needed to determine the true outcome.” She added, “Ed Advancement has helped us in several areas, for example looking at some of our internal business processes to streamline them and make it easier for students and families to choose UMES. The work that we are doing now will be felt for many years to come.”
Norfolk State University (NSU) is also a member of the cohort of HBCUs working with Ed Advancement on projects related to enrollment and student success. NSU recently implemented a new customer relationship management process as they wanted to rebuild the student journey to and while at the institution. The aim is to reduce paperwork, conserve staff time and create more frequent and easy opportunities to communicate with students. NSU is also working on initiatives that improve the student experience in other ways including training to support faculty in online learning. This work is critical for retention and student success at any college or university.
Juan Alexander, Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management at Norfolk State University.
According to Juan Alexander Sr., Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management at NSU, in the wake of the increased interest from prospective students, “NSU is focused on having the capacity (residential life, counseling services, classes, etc.) to keep up with student demand, having consistent funding to provide sufficient and competitive scholarships packages, keeping abreast of the various technologies used in marketing and recruiting prospective students and ensuring we are recruiting students that are a fit for our institution for retention purposes.”
One of the ways that NSU is ensuring that students, families, and funders understand the value that they are getting for their investment — either tuition dollars or donations — is by sharing outcomes. As Alexander explained, “We are now beginning to publish our outcomes in our recruitment materials and during our virtual and face-to-face college fairs. We are also connecting prospective students to alumni based on student interest. Something that we are able to do by creating operational efficiencies is spend more time on storytelling and sharing what makes the Norfolk State experience unique.”
Both UMES and NSU believe that by tightening their operations they will be able to spend more time on telling their robust institutional stories. They are focused on building relationships with recent alumni and sharing career stories that make college more relevant for prospective and current students. Working together with other HBCUs to focus on common challenges has led to overall strength in terms of managing resources and serving students’ needs.
