Democratic Lawmakers Announce Historic Funding Increases for Historically Black Colleges and Universities This Fall
Under the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, Schools Will Begin Receiving Millions of Dollars in Grants on July 31st

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

WASHINGTON, DC -- As a result of a major student aid law enacted last year, historically black colleges and universities across America will begin to receive record increases in new funding for the coming school year, Democratic lawmakers announced today. The U.S. Department of Education will start awarding the grants to schools on Thursday, July 31st.

The law, the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, provides $170 million in new funding for HBCUs over the next two years to help expand college access, strengthen support services that focus on helping low-income and minority students stay in school and graduate, and renovate campuses in need of improvement. The grants provided under the law are mandatory funding, meaning schools will receive them in addition to any funding that is appropriated annually by the Congress. All 99 HBCUs that currently receive federal funds will benefit from this increase.

“This landmark investment in HBCUs will strengthen college opportunities for millions of talented students,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee and the author of the law. “HBCUs are a vital part of America’s higher education and economic framework, and have a long history of producing some of our nation’s greatest leaders, innovators, and thinkers. By providing HBCUs with these much-needed federal resources, we are saying that the needs of these vital institutions and their students can no longer go ignored.”

“HBCUs have played and continue to play an integral role in furthering the education of Black students in America,” said U.S. Rep. Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-VA), the Co-Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus Education Taskforce. “Unfortunately, these institutions face increasing challenges and have limited resources.  I am very pleased with the historical investment to HBCUs that the College Cost Reduction and Access Act will provide. It is a much-needed step in the right direction and will go a long way toward helping HBCUs continue to provide a quality education to our nation's youth.”

“As a graduate of the University of Arkansas Pine Bluff, I and my brothers, sisters, nephews, cousins and friends know firsthand the opportunities provided by HBCUs, especially to low-income African American students,” said U.S. Rep. Danny K. Davis (D-IL), the Co-Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus Education Taskforce. “Chairman George Miller and the Committee on Education and Labor are to be commended for this outstanding bill.”

HBCUs play a significant role in helping African American students succeed in college and the workforce. Although they represent only 3 percent of all colleges and universities, they enroll close to a third of all African-American students. Forty percent of their students pursue four-year degrees in science, technology, engineering and math, and about half of all African-American students in teaching fields attend HBCUs.

Despite this progress, HBCUs continue to face a unique set of financial challenges, including balancing limited resources and endowments with a deep commitment to serving students with fewer financial resources. Many schools are in dire need of repair, especially Gulf Coast schools that are still feeling the devastating effects of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Sadly, federal support for HBCUs and other minority-serving schools has dwindled under the Bush administration. In his most recent budget for the fiscal year 2009, President Bush proposed cutting funding for HBCUs and other minority-serving institutions by $85 million, a 35 percent decrease from the previous year’s budget.

In addition to the funding provided by the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, Democrats are also working to boost support for HBCUs by enacting the Higher Education Opportunity Act, which would strengthen and reauthorize the nation’s higher education programs. That bill, which Congress is working to finalize this week, would increase the amount of funding HBCUs could receive for capital projects, expand funding eligibility for graduate student programs at HBCUs and other minority serving-institutions and would address the challenges of starting and growing endowments at these schools.

For more information on the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, click here.

For more information on the Higher Education Opportunity Act, click here.

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