In this article, the author pursues to answer the query whether the impact and relevance of HBCUs has diminished over the past thirty years or not. He examines two research questions: (1) How do four African-American professors who self-identify as mentors at a highly-selective PWI describe and understand their formative experiences as they relate…

The role of motivation and collaboration in STEM learning and performance is paramount. A learning community represents an educational approach that can engage students in learning in a motivated, thoughtful, active, and collaborative way. The focus of this article is on the nature of students' interest, attitudes, learning experiences and…

College students are a very vulnerable group to experience stress, the latter of which is related to a variety of outcomes, such as health and academic performance. However, there is a dearth of research examining African American college students and stress. Further, fewer studies have compared stress for students attending predominately white…

This study examined the role of religious orientation and social support in health-promoting behaviors of African American college students. Data were collected from 211 students attending a historically Black university. Results from a 4 x 2 MANOVA revealed significant main effects for both variables. No interaction effects were observed. Post…

Learning communities continue to be at the heart of teaching and learning today. The purpose of this study is to examine the extent of the impact of the Freshman Academy/Learning Community program on student progress at a historically Black university. The authors also looked at the extent to which students engaged in their learning as a result of…

This study examines racial identity attitudes, womanist identity attitudes, and self-esteem of 111 African American college women attending two historically Black higher educational institutions, one coeducational and one single-sex. The major findings indicate that pre-encounter and encounter attitudes of racial and womanist identity are…

In December 2000, Dr. Thomas Earl Midgette had harsh words for the hip-hop movement that was sweeping his campus. When he was interviewed for an article in "Black Issues" titled "The Miseducation of Hip-Hop," Midgette didn't hold back: "You see students walking on campus reciting rap lyrics when they should be reciting…

This article argues strong affirmative action for HBCUs involving federal R&D funds and congressional earmarks is needed. Members of Congress must recognize the essential role HBCUs have played in providing educational opportunities for African Americans and economically marginalized White Americans. The "No Child Left Behind" slogan for K-12…

As use of the Internet continues to expand, the width of the digital divide between the "haves" and the "have nots" will expand as well. Caught in the forefront of the "have nots" are those living within a region of the south known as the Black Belt. This area contains the greatest levels of poor, uneducated, and…

For historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), engagement is not an enhancement of their curriculum but part of their birthright. Founded in the Civil War/Reconstruction era, HBCUs had as their core mission educating freed slaves and other free black people to participate in the economy. Later, during the Jim Crow era, HBCUs educated…

Several factors may have contributed to the decline of historically black colleges and universities' (HBCUs) relative share of total Black student enrollment in postsecondary educational institutions, and there is no empirical evidence about their effects in the literature. The survival and growth of many HBCUs depend on their ability to maintain…

Comparing the experiences of White and Black graduate students illuminate various social adjustment challenges for White graduate students at historically Black colleges or universities (HBCUs) that are distinct from those challenges experienced by Black students on traditionally White campuses (TWIs). Findings in this exploratory and descriptive…

Black and White students who enrolled in college by age 20 were selected from a national probability sample, in order to estimate the prevalence of having children and the effect of having a child on probability of graduation with a bachelor's degree. Black students reported significantly higher rates of having children than White students, but…

Experiences of Black students at a large, predominantly White, border-state university that houses one of the few comprehensive Black Studies programs in the nation were examined. Previous research has shown that the level of Black identity development of Black college students varied from one higher educational institution to the next. Based on…

To their disadvantage, few Americans--and few in higher education--know much about the successes of historically Black colleges and universities. How is it that historically Black colleges graduate so many low-income and academically poorly prepared students? How do they manage to do so well with students "as they are", even when…