Vital and Valuable: The Relevance of HBCUs to American Life and Education (Black Lives in the Diaspora: Past / Present / Future)

In Removing the Veil, James V. Koch and Omari H. Swinton assess the current performance and status of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). They argue that the quality of decision making at HBCUs and educational policy decisions made concerning HBCUs in state capitals and Washington DC would improve if HBCUs were better understood in terms of what HBCUs are, who they serve, and how. Thus, the goal of this book is straightforward: remedy the knowledge deficit that afflicts many Americans concerning HBCUs and promote great support. Both economists - Koch is a former university president and Swinton a current HBCU department chair - approach their goal in a focused fashion, concentrating their attention on the performance and competitive positions of HBCUs. They train their eyes on quantifiable metrics like retention and graduation rates, internal resource allocation, and fund-raising. The book's five core empirical chapters provide the basic data on HBCU performance, analyze enrollment, explain how institutions qualify as HBCUs, consider the relative size of institutions and their outcomes, and assess admissions trends. In sum, Koch and Swinton contend that HBCUs are an undervalued national resource. In their conclusion, they [will] provide policy recommendations to accentuate their successes and bolster their weaknesses. The book's objective is draw broad attention to value of HBCUs in higher education and should be essential reading for policy makers concerned with higher education and a broader public interested in better understanding the value of HBCUs--

• | Author: James V. Koch, Omari H. Swinton
• | Publisher: Columbia University Press
• | Publication Date: Feb 14, 2023
• | Number of Pages: 288 pages
• | Language: English
• | Binding: Hardcover
• | ISBN-10: 0231208987
• | ISBN-13: 9780231208987