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State policymakers should work to close longstanding gaps in state funding for HBCUs, according to a new report highlighting the crucial link between technology investments and student success at HBCUs.
The report from Complete College America, Critical Connections: Funding HBCUs’ Digital Infrastructure is Essential to Meeting U.S. College Completion Goals, makes the case that modern digital infrastructure is crucial to improve student outcomes
“The research is clear that Historically Black Colleges and Universities are powerful drivers of social and economic mobility. To thrive in today’s digital age, they need the tools and technology to match their missions,” said Dr. Yolanda Watson Spiva, president of CCA and Spelman College alumna, in a statement. “Investing in cutting-edge technology on HBCU campuses isn’t just about modernization–it’s about unlocking student potential and preparing the next generation of HBCU students and leaders for a tech-driven future. HBCUs must be fully funded and equipped to lead in this digital era, and that requires bold investments in their infrastructure.”
Many HBCUs encounter financial challenges for a variety of reasons, including chronic underfunding and receiving smaller endowments compared to predominantly white higher-ed institutions. On average, public HBCUs receive only $7,265 per student in endowment–far less than the $25,390 at non-HBCU public schools. In 2022, several states gave more capital funding to non-HBCUs, even when total funding was above the national average.
Due to these financial challenges, HBCUs struggle to improve infrastructure, including investments in information technology systems that can measurably improve student outcomes, modernize the student experience, and improve personalization of student support. The report urges higher education leaders and policymakers to leverage capital appropriations as a tool to support direct investments in HBCU technology infrastructure.
Complete College America worked with six HBCUs on the Digital Learning Initiative (DLI), which outlines how HBCUs can maintain excellence while also responding to increasing demand for digital learning, as well as how they can use technology to improve the student experience.
That work produced four pillars of transformation that have proven instrumental in HBCUs’ work to move their institutions forward:
- Purpose: Aligning the college experience to each student’s goals for the future
- Structure: Building course roadmaps that make the path to a degree or valued workplace credential clear
- Momentum: Designing multiple avenues for students to get started, earn credits faster, and stay on track to graduate
- Support: Addressing student needs and removing barriers to academic success
Funding increases at HBCUs should focus on technology infrastructure. “Digital learning has transitioned from being a limited option before the pandemic to a vital necessity during the pandemic. And now, colleges and universities are embedding these digital learning initiatives into their long-term strategies,” according to the report. Online learning and resources, student supports, digital and mobile engagement strategies, cultural and social events–technology infrastructure supports it all.
“As student needs and technology evolve, an effective digital learning infrastructure can play two critical roles at HBCUs,” the report notes. “First, it can automate transactional elements of the college experience, freeing resources for the human interactions that drive HBCUs’ success. For example, when registering for classes is automated, advisers are free to have longer, richer, more regular conversations with students about educational, career, and life plans. These interactions are known to contribute greatly to student success and completion. Second, a strong digital infrastructure can ensure that the most human aspects of the college experience–teaching, learning, advising, and especially critical thinking–retain the personalization
that is central to HBCUs, even when coursework and student engagement practices are delivered virtually.”
HBCUs must also be prepared to harness AI’s potential to meet industry demands.
“HBCUs and other historically under-resourced institutions must have their financial needs met in terms of digital learning infrastructure, including better hardware and the software to run it. The need must match an AI future that will define all of society, not just higher education. Without such investment, digital transformation can become a privilege reserved for the most selective and well-resourced colleges, universities, and communities,” according to the report.
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