Alabama HBCU enrollment is increasing: See tuition, affordability

After a long decline in enrollment, Alabama’s historically black colleges may be in a growth period.

Alabama holds the nation’s largest number of HBCUs, with 14 public and private institutions meeting the designation. The colleges, built prior to 1964, were originally established to educate African Americans, who for centuries were blocked from attending state schools.

Experts say HBCUs are key to building strong, vibrant communities – and are economic drivers in many parts of the country. In Alabama, HBCUs have contributed more than a billion dollars to the state’s economy in recent years. In 2020, they produced about a quarter, or 3,581, of the state’s 14,667 Black graduates, federal data shows.

For decades, though, the institutions have struggled to attract and retain students. Just in the past 10 years, enrollment has declined and tuition has risen faster at HBCUs than any other school, an AL.com analysis found.

But that could be changing.

After a long decline, HBCU enrollment is on the upswing

AL.com analyzed 10 years of tuition, funding and enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics, as well as the Alabama Commission on Higher Education and publicly available data on institution websites.

Enrollment at Alabama’s HBCUs has declined rapidly over the past decade, at a rate much higher than other institutions.

While slightly more students are enrolling in Alabama’s four-year colleges, four-year HBCUs saw a 16% decrease in enrollment since 2012-2013. Public HBCUs also saw a 14% decrease, while enrollment at all public institutions increased slightly over the same time period.

Private and two-year HBCU enrollment also has been decreasing faster than that of other institutions.

But between 2020 and 2021, HBCU enrollment rose significantly while enrollment statewide stayed flat.

Find your school’s enrollment over time in the chart below. See the chart online here.

Most of that increase, of about 6%, came from two-year HBCUs, as community colleges across the state see a resurgence in enrollment. But private HBCU enrollment has also increased, and some say the jump could signal a boom in future enrollment.

HBCU application rates nationwide have grown dramatically in recent years, according to The New York Times. Students interviewed by the Times said they were drawn to a more nurturing campus environment, and noted their reputation for producing top talent.

“HBCUs are the safe haven where the education is still excellent,” Lodriguez Murray, senior vice president of public policy and government affairs for the United Negro College Fund, said at a recent forum.

HBCUs led the way on tuition freezes

HBCUs can be more affordable than other state or private institutions, the UNCF found.

Alabama’s four-year HBCUs charged an average rate of $15,040 for out-of-state students, and $12,621 for in-state students in 2021-22. That’s about $3,000 less than the statewide out-of-state rate, and about $500 less than the average in-state rate.

Two-year HBCUs charged an average rate of $7,462 for out-of-state students and $3,731 for in-state students in the same time period. Together, they charged about $600 less for out-of-state students and nearly $1,000 for in-state students compared to other public two-year colleges.

In the past decade, tuition rates at Alabama HBCUs saw steep increases, but then leveled off.

Alabama has eight four-year HBCUs, six of which are private schools. Over the past decade, tuition at private HBCUs increased by 18%, compared to 15% at other private four-years.

Tuition at Alabama A&M and Alabama State University, the state’s two public four-year HBCUs, increased at a higher rate. In- and out-of-state tuition increased by about 42%, compared to about 30% at all public four-years.

But when the pandemic hit, HBCUs were among the first colleges to freeze tuition.

All four-year HBCUs – with the exception of Selma University, which did not report tuition rates from 2020 to 2022 – froze tuition between 2019 and 2022. Some, like Alabama A&M and ASU, hadn’t increased rates since at least 2018.

At least five of those institutions kept tuition rates fixed during the 2022-23 school year, AL.com found.

How has funding changed?

In Alabama, HBCU funding appears to be increasing after decades of disinvestment.

State allocations, for one, have increased at higher rates for HBCUs than other state institutions – by about 23% from 2019 to 2021, compared to 13% at all public colleges.

In 2021, Alabama’s four-year public HBCUs received $2,447 more per student, or 33%, more than their peers, data shows. Alabama A&M received its largest gift ever, at $2.2 million, that year. Federal allocations have also increased slightly.

But experts say states have a long way to go before HBCUs can see equitable outcomes.

A 2022 Forbes report found that, collectively, Black land-grant universities have been underfunded by at least $12.8 billion over the last three decades.

As recently as the early 2000s, Alabama HBCUs were receiving less in per-pupil funding than other state institutions, federal data shows. Lawmakers approved $5 million last year to cover deferred maintenance projects at HBCUs, but that only covered half of what was requested, according to data provided by ACHE.

At the federal level, advocates have been making a case to policymakers that the recent uptick in HBCU funding doesn’t begin to make up for years of neglect.

“Even if you give us $6 billion dollars – and mind you, that is divided amongst 100 or so accredited institutions – that still is a drop in the bucket if you’ve been underfunded since inception,” Murray said.

Which HBCUs are the cheapest? Most expensive?

There are lots of different ways to measure college costs, which can change widely once you account for added fees and scholarships and local costs of living.

The rankings below are based on the most recently reported total price for in-state students living off-campus, which includes tuition, fees and other college expenses. Student aid rankings are based on 2020-2021 data, which subtracts the average amount of state, federal and institutional grants awarded to each student.

Most expensive, without aid:

Oakwood (four-year): $42,400
Lawson State (two-year): $20,527

Most expensive, with aid:

Tuskegee (four-year): $36,848
Shelton State (two-year): $14,202

Least expensive, without aid:

Talladega College (four-year): $21,986
Gadsden State (two-year): $12,952

Least expensive, with aid:

Talladega College (four-year): $12,488
Bishop State (two-year): $6,636