Navigating the HBCU Landscape

Friday, November 6, 2020

www.StLouisGraduates.org Agenda

10:00 AM Welcome & Housekeeping Amber Mitchell, College & Career Counselor, Ritenour High School and St. Louis Graduates Steering Committee member 10:02 Take a Deep Breath

10:05 Breakout Groups Check-in: Get to know a colleague!

10:10 Navigating the Road of Historically Black Colleges & Universities A.D. Grimes II, MBA, M.S. Ed 10:40 Harris-Stowe State University Iris Tabb, Director of Admissions 10:55 Announcements & Resource Links

11:00 Wrap Up & Adjourn

2 Housekeeping

• Give yourself – and others – grace and space right now. Children and pets may walk into the room while we are together. Someone may misspeak because they are tired. Let’s be mindful that we are all doing the best we can. • Abide by the PDI Meeting Agreements • Please remain on mute unless presenting. • Do what’s best for you. Join us by video if you can. It’s nice to “see” you! But we understand if your current situation means it’s best for you to be here on audio only. • Use the Chat function to react to a presenter or to ask a question. • “Private” chat is not private – it shows up in our chat log we send out. FYI! • This session is being recorded. We will post notes, chat log and video recording to the St. Louis Graduates’ website. The link will be sent out after the meeting. • Please complete the evaluation survey! It’s important to our planning and for reports to our funders. You’ll receive it via e-mail today.

3 Join us for these upcoming PDI Workshops!

All workshops are online and held on Fridays at 10 AM. St. Louis Graduates is pleased to partner with MASFAP on all financial aid workshops • November 20 – In partnership with MASFAP: Financial Aid and Student Support Resources from MDHEWD, MOCAN and My Scholarship Central • Includes updates on Missouri Student Financial Aid programs

• December 4 –Supporting Undocumented Youth with Felipe Martinez of The Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis

All workshops are free to counselors and access advisers thanks to support from Norman J. Stupp Foundation, Commerce Bank trustee.

4 Take a Deep Breath

Poet/artist: Morgan Harper Nichols Playlist: We Need Each Other – by Garden24 on Spotify Song: A Beautiful Noise – and Brandi Carlisle 5 Check In – Let’s Connect!

How it works: • In a moment, you’ll be invited to join a Breakout Room in Zoom. Click join. • You’ll spend 5 minutes in a breakout room with 1-2 other people • You’ll automatically be brought back to the main room after 5 minutes. • At anytime you can click to return to the main room. • Practice intentional listening. Acknowledge, nod, but do not interrupt. Allow each person to be heard.

Each person takes 1-2 minutes *uninterrupted* to introduce themselves: • Name • Role and organization • What is 1 thing you are doing now for self care?

6 NAVIGATING THE ROAD OF HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES & UNIVERSITIES

A.D. Grimes II, MBA, M.S. Ed Alumnus, Supporter, Motivator & Enthusiast WHAT & WHY

What is a HBCU? A college or university that was originally founded to educate students of African-American descent.

Why are HBCUs Important? America’s dream of life liberty and the pursuit of happiness is directly impacted by your educational foundation. Either you work hard on the road to become successful or if you get rich quick you’re able to successfully make your money work for you.

No matter the path, both require an education.

After the passing of the 13th amendment, the newly freed Black Americans needed and yearned for something that had been kept away from them and their ancestors, an education. WHAT & WHY cont.

As an alumnus of an HBCU (Tennessee State University 2004 and Prairie View A&M University 2020) the goal of many students who attend a HBCU is to:

1. Attend an institution in which you can be yourself (no code switching, no taking your history as an elective, no having your music/movies etc. labeled as inappropriate yet being subject to the music and movies of other cultures and told it is the standard.)

2. Find a place in society to call HOME. Many students who attend HBCUs extend their “family” to include other students and faculty at their institution.

3. Culturally be at a place where everything mirrors the beauty and love of your people. Similar to how how Mormons feel about BYU, Catholics about Notre Dame etc., a place where the culture depicts what you’re familiar with.

4. Join Fraternities/Sororities and other student organizations which helps make students feel more welcome.

5. Experience History, Tradition and Culture. COMMON UNCOMFORTABLE QUESTIONS OR MISCONCEPTIONS

● Why do HBCUs still exist?

● Isn’t it all kind of racist?

● What made you attend a predominantly black school; isn’t that like segregation?

● Is it like the movies? School Daze, Stomp the Yard Drumline?

● Honestly, the financial aid just isn’t there.

● There’s no affordable HBCUs for my students. NAVIGATING HBCUs IN THE NEW AMERICA

In the last 20 years we have seen a political and cultural shift in America that has not always made it the most comfortable place to live and dwell, no matter your background.

We have seen the eruption of your political stance, race, religion and other cultural identity issues discussed daily, and sides have been taken. NAVIGATING HBCUs IN THE NEW AMERICA cont.

Sooooo...How do you advise a student on attending a HBCU if you've never been to one, talked to anyone who attended the institution or if your cultural background has created a bias towards certain terms?

1. Remember that students have to make their own decision (even parents may not agree), but it’s our job to put them in the best situation possible. If financially UCM is better does that help if the student is going to be miserable culturally? Both have long term effects (one can be solved the other may be damaging permanently)

2. Keep your opinion out of someone else’s choice. Present the facts on the school not what you’ve heard. I heard so many say “It’s a party school...every school is a party school come Thursday!”

3. Remember that Black Colleges are HISTORICALLY Black. White students can and do attend these institutions and often find happiness and direction; they are not just athletes. HOW TO FIND THE RIGHT HBCU

HBCU COMMON APPLICATION Apply to 58 schools for a special fee of $20 this year but normally $35. https://commonblackcollegeapp.com/

HBCU HUB

● An app found in Google Play or Apple Store.

● App allows students to talk directly to recruiters, research each school and even save money by avoiding application fees.

● Students are required to prepare a profile with a profile picture, transcript and intro video. HOW TO FIND SCHOLARSHIPS FOR YOUR STUDENTS

● AFFORDABLE COLLEGES ONLINE https://www.affordablecollegesonline.org/college-resource-center/hbcu-scholarships/

● SCHOLARSHIPS.COM https://www.scholarships.com/financial-aid/college-scholarships/scholarship- directory/race/african-american

● HBCU Connect (requires free membership to access) https://hbcuconnect.com/scholarships/

● United Negro College Fund https://uncf.org/scholarships

● Thurgood Marshall College Fund https://www.tmcf.org/students-alumni/scholarships/ YOUR QUESTIONS

GENERAL QUESTIONS ● What are the Pros and Cons of attending a HBCU? ● What kind of variety is there with HBCUs and how do I help my students find the right fit?

FINANCIAL AID QUESTIONS ● How do we navigate the financial aid conversations, find scholarship opportunities for students and help the students maximize the amount of financial aid available to them?

● Zero EFC students (Pell Eligible) don't seem to get as much aid as they would get from non- HBCUs. Why is this and is there anything students can do to position themselves for more aid from HBCUs? Q & A NAVIGATING THE HBCU LANDSCAPE Zero EFC students (Pell Eligible) don't seem to get as much aid as they would get from nonHBCUs. Why is this and is there anything students can do to position themselves for more aid from HBCUs?

Public HBCUs rely on federal, state, and local funding more heavily than their non-HBCU counterparts (54 percent of overall revenue vs. 38 percent). Private HBCUs are also more tuition-dependent than their non-HBCU counterparts (45 percent ◈ tuition-dependent compared with 37 percent tuition-dependent). Private gifts, grants, and contracts make up a smaller percentage of overall revenue for private ◈ HBCUs relative to their non-HBCU counterparts (17 percent vs. 25 percent). Both public and private HBCUs experienced the steepest declines in federal funding per full-time ◈ equivalent student between 2003 and 2015, with private HBCUs seeing a 42 percent reduction—the most substantial of all sectors. ◈ Within both public and private sectors, HBCU endowments lag behind those of non-HBCUs by at least 70 percent. ◈ 18 Endowment Comparison

College and universities such as Harvard and Yale rank at the top of the list of institutions with university endowments exceeding close to over $40 billion. The vast majority of HBCUs almost always had smaller endowments. That's mainly because of a ◈ history of inequitable funding. HBCUs have $15,000 on average in endowment per student, compared to $410,000 at ◈ comparable non-HBCUs, according to a 2018 study by the U.S. Government Accountability Office. Meanwhile, HBCUs hold a median endowment of $12 million versus $23 million for ◈ comparable non-HBCUs, the study found. For all of the 107 HBCUs, the total endowment sits at $2.1 billion. By comparison, 54 predominantly white colleges and universities have $2 billion or more in their own endowments. Howard University has the largest endowment among HBCUs, with $689.8 million, according to ◈ data from the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO).

◈ 19 Wealth begets wealth

Although African Americans tend to give a larger share of their discretionary incomes to charity than do white Americans, they also tend to have less accumulated wealth, even at similar levels of educational attainment. ◈ HBCUs historically have been at a disadvantage in receiving large philanthropic gifts from non- alumni. There's racism involved in acquiring funds. In the past, funders did not trust African Americans to manage their money, so they didn't give. ◈

20 Change your mindset and improve your expectations!

NO SCHOLARSHIP AMOUNT IS TOO SMALL A full ride academic scholarship does not always have to come from one funding source. If a student is able to aggregate scholarship awards and cover the entire cost of his or her education, then THAT is also ◈ considered being on full academic scholarship. Don’t shun those $250, $500 or $750 scholarships...they ◈ really do add up! The smaller dollar scholarships are sometimes the easiest to apply for and receive. A short essay, often no more than 500 words, is usually a standard requirement. So, if your student shuns writing, start working on improving his/her outlook on the power and purpose of being a good writer. Organizations like Jack & Jill, Rotary Clubs, Masonic Lodges and other private membership entities regularly offer scholarships for students attending college. These scholarships are often overlooked and go unclaimed as students don’t see the long term value in the smaller scholarships. ◈ Scholarship Central: https://stlouisgraduates.academicworks.com/

◈ 21 Announcements & Resources

• Complete College America’s With Equity & Justice for All webinar series • NCAN's 4 For the Fall: Blueprint for Supporting the High School Class of 2021 • ACT Testing Site Cancellations – here is where ACT is posting Oct sites who have cancelled the test. Plan to do same for December tests if needed. • FairTest list of test-optional colleges for Fall 2021 • STARR College Search Webinar Series • National Association of College Admissions Counselors (NACAC) updated list of colleges admissions changes • Federal Student Aid website with student/family resources and Watch YouTube channel Read • The Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis Financial Aid Basics video Share with others! series

COVID-19 RESOURCE PAGE

22 Check Out

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STAY SAFE. STAY WELL. THANK YOU!

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