The Links Inc., a national organization of professional women of color, has undertaken the HBCU Community College Collaborative project, an effort to increase college completion rates for African American students. Funded by a grants from USA Funds and the Lumina Foundation for Education, the project seeks to strengthen ties between community colleges and four-year historically Black colleges and universities. An orientation program was held this past week at Fayetteville State University in North Carolina.
The goal of the program is that 50 percent of participating community college students transfer to the partnering HBCUs and earn a bachelor’s degree. Each community college selected for participation will be paired with a local Links Inc. chapter and a nearby HBCU. In some cases there are two HBCUs that will be involved in a partnership with a particular community college.
Here is a list of the partnering community colleges and HBCUs:
• Bluegrass Community and Technical College and Kentucky State University
• Hinds Community College, Utica and Tougaloo College and Jackson State University
• Fayetteville Technical Community College and Fayetteville State University
• Austin Community College and Huston-Tillotson University
• Tidewater Community College and Norfolk State University and Hampton University
• J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College and Virginia Union University
