The Carnegie Classifications of Higher Education and the American Council on Education have recently launched a new Student Access and Earnings Classification to examine the extent to which an institution is enrolling the students who reflect the communities it serves and whether an institution’s former students go on to earn competitive wages compared to their peers.
Institutions that receive both high access and high earnings measures are designated as “Opportunity Colleges and Universities,” identifying them as models for studying how campuses can foster student success. Of the 479 schools considered “Opportunity Colleges and Universities,” 11 are historically Black institutions:
- Albany State University in Georgia
- Alcorn State University in Mississippi
- Florida A&M University
- Hampton University in Virginia
- Howard University in Washington, D.C.
- Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia
- Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia
- Tuskegee University in Alabama
- The University of Maryland Eastern Shore
- Winston-Salem State University in North Carolina
- Xavier University of Louisiana
“The announcement from the Carnegie Classifications on Higher Education and ACE naming these 11 remarkable historically Black colleges and universities as Opportunity Colleges shines a light on what great work being done at our institutions who have served as a gateway to the middle class for more than 180 years,” said Harry L. Williams, president and CEO of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. “I also want to congratulate ACE and the Carnegie Classifications on creating this new classification as a way to examine the quality of higher education institutions in a more holistic way that focuses on real outcomes for students.”
I love this for all of the universities identified, but particularly for the named HBCUs. As an alumna of Tuskegee Institute( before its change yo Tuskegee University) I hope this will eliminate the impression that HBCU students are not equally prepared for success in their chosen fields.