Howard U. Disenrolled Hundreds of Students. Was It for Their Own Good?
Historically Black colleges have, for generations, been known to show unbounded grace to students in financial need. Newly freed Black students built campus classrooms in lieu of paying tuition; college presidents waived fees for especially promising students; and even in recent years administrators overlooked deadlines to ensure that students, who may have been shut out of education elsewhere, still had a path to the American dream.
So it came as a shock last month when Howard University disenrolled more than 500 incoming students who had failed to meet its payment deadlines.
Howard has betrayed its mission, countless Black community leaders and families alleged in viral social-media posts.
But a Chronicle analysis found that an influx of applicants, coupled with dwindling federal funding resources, has forced a dilemma on the nation’s Black colleges: How can they expand enrollment to meet student demand without straining campus resources, destabilizing their finances, or pushing more students into debt?
Administrators see it as a battle for their bottom line amid outdated expectations of affordability at HBCUs.
