Rate this HBCU Day 18: Claflin University

[Tribal Outkast]

I know some great folks that came out of there. Great school and I like the campus.

 

[DropTopDoc]

49% is the Claflin alumni giving rate, top of all HBCUs.

Oh damn, yeah that’s rare air

 

[get these nets]

However, Claflin has one of the higher graduation rates for HBCUs and the most dedicated alumni base of all HBCUs if you use alumni giving rates as a proxy. Claflin has 48% of its alumni donate to the school, higher than any other HBCU including Morehouse, Howard, and Spelman. Much of the progress has been attributed to Dr. Henry Tisdale, the president up until 2018. He ended open admissions (only 62% accepted now), made the school more selective, and stepped up recruiting. His wife also set up an honors college with high standards (and in a blast from the past, requiring dressed up attire four days a week). This made Claflin one of the Top 10 ranked HBCUs in recent years and earning a solid reputation.


Dr. Henry Tisdale - first Black mathematics PhD from Dartmouth and a former president of Claflin credited for the school's current position and trajectory

Meant to comment on this before. I think this is going to be the trend for more HBCUs in the future.
I know that some of them were built to/ evolved into educating students from poor academic backgrounds. They don't have the resources to provide the support for all of these kids to catch up., though.
The public Community Colleges do, and I think the open enrollment HBCUs should consider building partnerships and pipelines with them. Have the kids build up what they missed in high school, and then transfer when they are better prepared.
So you're still serving your mission. And you might have fewer students in the short term, but they will have fewer barriers to graduation in front of them.

 

[DrBanneker]

Meant to comment on this before. I think this is going to be the trend for more HBCUs in the future.
I know that some of them were built to/ evolved into educating students from poor academic backgrounds. They don't have the resources to provide the support for all of these kids to catch up., though.
The public Community Colleges do, and I think the open enrollment HBCUs should consider building partnerships and pipelines with them. Have the kids build up what they missed in high school, and then transfer when they are better prepared.
So you're still serving your mission. And you might have fewer students in the short term, but they will have fewer barriers to graduation in front of them.

I agree and given the pending demise of affirmative action in higher educations admissions along with the "anti-woke" culture war trends on campus and the legislatures, I think top and mid tier HBCUs may be in a good position to get above average Black students that PWIs traditionally snagged in the coming years. It may not be the "A Different World" surge in admissions but an overall shift towards a higher standard in academics (at the top HBCUs).

 

[get these nets]

HBCU Partner Institutions | Faculty Development & Diversity

faculty.yale.edu

ASCEND Initiative​

On March 5, 2024, Provost Scott Strobel announced the Alliance for Scholarship, Collaboration, Engagement, Networking and Development (ASCEND) to strengthen Yale’s partnership with HBCUs, whose missions center on the education of Black Americans. Over the next five years, Yale will commit $2 million annually, for a total of $10 million, to this initiative. ASCEND will support research collaborations between HBCU and Yale faculty, provide resources for HBCU faculty research projects, and expand pathway programs for HBCU students. These programs, planned in collaboration with HBCU partner institutions, commit to increasing representation and amplifying the significant contributions of HBCUs in shaping the academic landscape.

Our partnership with Claflin will emphasize Planetary Solutions and Humanities