This purpose of this qualitative exploratory study was to identify culturally relevant fundraising strategies that can empower leaders of public, under-resourced, tuition dependent HBCUs on how to effectively reduce tuition dependence. University presidents and advancement professionals face a growing dilemma of identifying ways to strengthen…

There has been a decline in tuition revenue for some private historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs); an above-average tuition discount rate may impede the financial performance of private HBCUs. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of business officers and other employees of…

Over the past two decades, the practice of tuition discounting has become commonplace, and the discount percentage has steadily increased since 2008. This study replicates the work executed by Juliana Browning in 2013. This study focuses on the sustainability and viability of Title IV participating, private, four-year, not for profit, degree…

The Pell Grant is the foundational need-based student aid program in the United States, providing students of lower socio-economic status a pathway to afford college costs and educational expenses. Currently, over one-third of all U.S. undergraduate students receive Pell. This paper examines federal Pell assistance and institutional costs for…

Resource dependence has been evidenced among private HBCUs that obtain as much as 90% of operating revenue from tuition and fees. Without alternative funding strategies in place, small declines in enrollment can lead to a major budget crisis. The basic premise of this exploratory inquiry was that fundraising represents an opportunity that has been…

Postsecondary student demographics are dramatically shifting in the state of Texas, resulting in an increased need for state government resources to ensure college access affordability in the state. It is critical that lawmakers prioritize higher education to allow Texans from all backgrounds access to afford higher education. This editorial is an…

While research consistently shows the earning power of college degrees, those returns are best weighed against the cost of attending post-secondary institutions, historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) included. This study is an update of "Affordability of UNCF-Member Institutions" (2009), and compares the average costs at…

The South African campus protests of 2015-17 in demand of decolonisation and free tertiary education presaged similar demonstrations on campuses throughout the English-speaking world and revealed the dilemmas of university leadership under conditions of sustained crisis. This research examines the typology of leadership exercised by senior…

This article explores how responsive freshman enrollment demand is to changes in the price of enrollment at a selective private all-male historically Black college. With post-admission administrative data on newly admitted freshmen for the 2009-2010 academic year, the authors use a count data estimator to calculate the responsiveness of course…

This study explored the key factors that had the greatest impact on their decision to attend a particular HBCU. Forty to 60-minute semi-structured interviews were conducted with 4 focus groups. The results indicated that cost, campus environment, academic majors, and family were the 4 key factors that influenced their decisions to attend the…

The purpose of this phenomenological study is to qualitatively describe the cognitive, institutional, and social factors that influence the persistence rates of first year African-American students majoring in Business at Grambling State University, a Historically Black College and University (HBCU). The overall focus of this study was to examine…

"What Will They Learn?"™ evaluates every four-year public university with a stated liberal arts mission as well as hundreds of private colleges and universities selected on the basis of size, mission, and regional representation. All schools in the "What Will Will They Learn"™ study are regionally-accredited, nonprofit…

In the fiercely competitive, global job market, solid preparation in core skills matters a lot. Will college graduates write with the clarity, grace, and accuracy that employers (and everyone else) expect? Will they have the basic mathematical and scientific skills--regardless of their majors--that equip them to navigate an increasingly…

Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are heavily tuition-dependent. When enrollment goes down, the schools are vulnerable. This article discusses how HBCUs explore ways to liberate themselves from tuition dependence. It describes how historically Black college and university leaders are moving their institutions from a model of…

When college officials across the country talk about their final tally of Fall 2012 enrollment, the discussions produce assessments that are all over the map. Some institutions, like Hampton University, are pleased to see their enrollment declining. Others, like Florida A&M University, are wondering how they are going to make up for revenue…