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Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before 1964 with the intention of serving the black community.[1]
[edit] OverviewThere are 105 historically black colleges and universities (HBCU) in the United States today, including public and private, two-year and four-year institutions, medical schools and community colleges.[2] All are or were in the former slave states and territories of the U.S. except for Central State University (Ohio), Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, Lewis College of Business (Detroit, Michigan), Lincoln University (Pennsylvania), Wilberforce University (Ohio), and now-defunct Western University (Kansas). Some which operated for decades closed during the 20th century due to competition, the Great Depression and financial difficulties, such as Walden University in Nashville, Tennessee. The Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, defines an HBCU as: "...any historically black college or university that was established prior to 1964, whose principal mission was, and is, the education of black Americans, and that is accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency or association determined by the Secretary [of Education] to be a reliable authority as to the quality of training offered or is, according to such an agency or association, making reasonable progress toward accreditation." [3] Most HBCUs were established after the American Civil War. Lincoln University (Pennsylvania), established in 1854, and Wilberforce University, established in 1856, were two prominent institutions of higher education established for blacks prior to the American Civil War. Other educational institutions currently have large numbers of blacks in their student body, but as they were founded (or opened their doors to African Americans) after the implementation of the Brown v. Board of Education ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court (the court decision which outlawed racial segregation of public education facilities) and the Higher Education Act of 1965, they are not historically black colleges, but have been termed "predominantly black." Some historically black colleges now have non-black majorities, notably West Virginia State University, whose student body has been roughly 90 percent white since the mid-1960s. Many non-state supported HBCU's are currently struggling financially, due to the increased cost of delivering private education to students, and declining financial aid for students.[4] Of the 105 HBCU institutions in America today, 27 of these universities offer doctoral programs and 52 schools provide graduate degree program at the Master's level. At the undergraduate level, 83 of the HBCU institutions offer the Bachelor's degree program and 38 of these schools offer associate degrees.[5] [edit] See also[edit] Notes
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