The coronavirus will continue to affect Historically Black Colleges far more extensively than solely converting to on campus housing or in person learning. The pandemic will go on to create distinct financial complications for HBCUs.
What We Know:
- Both traditional public universities and public HBCUs are primarily funded by the government while traditional private universities and private HBCUs rely more significantly on endowment funds, student tuition fees, or even donors. However, public HBCUs rely on government funding at a much higher rate than standard public universities.
- Since these institutions rely on government funding more significantly, extra spending and a shrinking revenue due to COVID-19 precautions will greatly affect HBCUs. Many HBCUs have instituted complex re-opening plans in order to mitigate dually the spread of the virus and the financial burden many students, parents, and employees will face the coming semester.
- For example, Howard University plans to have on campus testing, an emphasis on mental and emotional well being efforts, a predominantly online academic calendar, cancellation of all large gatherings, and reduce capacity in both resident and dining halls.
- Financially, the university recently released a statement to students announcing, “Many of Howard’s revenue sources will still be depressed as we enter the Fall, and there will be a number of significant new costs we will be required to incur as we prepare the campus for re-opening safely. Special grants from the Federal Government and contributions from supportive donors have helped offset some of these losses, but not all of them.” The university went on to say that they indeed realize the financial impact on families due to COVID-19 and hope to aid rising student charges.
- Other universities have also created complex plans to keep the safety of students and staff at the forefront; however these precautions are at the expense of the University budget. Morehouse, Spelman, North Carolina A&T, and many other HBCUs have all released statements regarding re-opening.
“I’m personally cutting my pay by 25% to support our efforts to continue to deliver a world-class education to students. As the nation’s only historically black college focused on educating men, Morehouse has devoted more than 153 years to the intellectual, cultural, and spiritual development of leaders.” –Dr. David A. Thomas, President of Morehouse College
- Federal aid like the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act, will provide some assistance to HBCUs heavily relying on government aid or experiencing dwindling endowments. The CARES Act allots $1.4 billion to be set aside for HBCUs and other historically minority serving institutions.
- The financial burdens faced by HBCUs will change registration numbers, housing infrastructures, access to technology, and many more factions of the college experience. The pandemic continues to cause a significant drop-out rate amongst college students that disproportionately affects minority students.
Nevertheless, resilience is a virtue held by many of these institutions far before the crisis and will continue to transpire within the coming months.
