| Corinne Alfeld
University of Minnesota
Female African American HBCU students in 2001 who began at community colleges in 1995
FINAL REPORT:
More than half of African American students who attend college following high school graduation enter 2-year institutions. However, those who aspire to a bachelor's degree but begin at a community college are less likely to transfer to 4-year institutions than are whites, and have lower eventual BA attainment rates than white students in general or African American students who begin at 4-year institutions. Both community colleges and HBCUs serve a high proportion of minority students, and both have been praised for their provision of access to higher education for those who otherwise may not have been able to afford it. This study sought to understand what happens to African American students who begin at community colleges and transfer to 4-year HBCUs, using the BPS:96/01.
Results show that very few African American males transfer from community colleges to HBCUs; therefore, analyses focused on females. Compared to their peers who transferred to a predominantly white institution (PWI), African American women who transferred to an HBCU were less wealthy, less academically able, and all from the Southeast. Their mothers were more educated on average, but they had lower educational aspirations than those who transferred to PWIs. Despite receiving more financial aid than PWI transfers, HBCU transfers experienced more financial difficulties in their 4-year institution. They also experienced more conflict between school and work. Those who transferred to HBCUs were slightly more likely than those who transferred to PWI to obtain a Bachelor's degree within a 5-year time frame, though the percentages were low for both groups (< 25%). The difference may simply be due to the fact that more community college credits transferred to HBCUs than PWIs. Finally, those who transferred into HBCUs from community colleges were less advantaged in terms of cultural capital than those who began their post-secondary education at HBCUs.Much more attention needs to be focused on African American community college students in terms of helping them transfer to a 4-year institution. HBCUs are culturally supportive environments which may help ease the transition for African American students, but these institutions may not have the financial resources to help retain students through Bachelor's degree attainment. HBCUs need to provide more financial aid and recruit from a wider geographic region in order to continue to be a service to African American students. Finally, there needs to be a critical focus on African American males and why they are not choosing HBCUs when they transfer.
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