May 23, 2007 — College Choices

A new study looks at the changing economic role of historically black colleges and universities
By Vanessa Sumo

Concentrated in the South, historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) were an important refuge for black students, even after the Supreme Court ordered states to desegregate public schools in 1955. Many believe that HBCUs continue to provide a place free from discrimination where young black scholars can prosper. Such a learning environment encourages students to develop certain attributes like self-confidence and leadership skills, both of which are valued on the job.

This could explain why black students who graduated from HBCUs in the 1970s earned higher wages than those who attended traditionally white institutions. Economists Roland Fryer of Harvard University and Michael Greenstone of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology reached this conclusion in a study released in April 2007. But Fryer and Greenstone also found that the relative wages of HBCU graduates fell by 20 percent between the 1970s and 1990s. Why?

It might be that the quality of education at HBCUs has declined over time. But Fryer and Greenstone can't find much evidence to support this hypothesis. For instance, real expenditures per student, which arguably would affect educational quality, increased by 27 percent at HBCUs between 1974 and 1991, compared with 25 percent at other colleges and universities.

Rather, Fryer and Greenstone propose that traditionally white institutions became more effective at educating black students between the 1970s and 1990s. The 1970s weren't far removed from the civil-rights struggle and the battles over black students trying to enroll in many Southern universities, note Fryer and Greenstone. Today, black students may find it easier to fit in and succeed at white colleges. "Traditionally white institutions have gotten to be more amenable places for black students to be on campus," Fryer says.

In a 1995 poll, black students who graduated from HBCUs and traditionally white schools were asked if they would choose to go back to the same school. Fryer notes that 67 percent of students who attended HBCUs in the late 1970s said that they would make the same decision, compared with only 40 percent of black students who attended traditionally white schools. But for those who attended white institutions in the early 1990s, the share of black students who said they would choose the same school rose to 70 percent, while the percentage of students who would return to HBCUs did not change.

White colleges may have gotten better at educating black students, but why would graduates from these schools earn more? Jessica Gordon Nembhard, an economist at the African American Studies Department at the University of Maryland, thinks that it may be due to some real and perceived differences between black and white colleges. Black students from white colleges may acquire better connections and internships that lead to better jobs. They may also "get more 'points' or privileges from a degree from a white university because of presumed superiority of the curriculum or quality of teaching, even if there isn't a real difference," she says.

Despite changing economic returns, many young black students still choose to go to HBCUs. School applications at the 39 HBCUs supported by the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) are at an all-time high, according to Michael Lomax, president and CEO of the UNCF. "We have something that young people want: the small college experience, lower tuition than other private schools, [and a] higher African American graduation rate than [that] of big universities," he says.

Students at HBCUs also are more likely to engage in social, political, and philanthropic activities, according to Fryer and Greenstone's research. And, Fryer suggests, a student choosing an HBCU may say, "I get to go to a place with great traditions [and] I want to be involved in social activities in my community when I finish."

Perhaps more important, Fryer and Greenstone's findings suggest that young blacks who want to go to college simply have more opportunities today. They can get a good education whether they go to a black or white college. "Look at all the options that young black people have," Fryer says, "What we have to do is give them this menu … here are your options, here are your costs and benefits, now go off and prosper. Choose what you want."