Anyone who knows me well, knows that I’m not a huge fan of for-profit higher education nor online education. I am somewhat traditional about the dissemination of knowledge. I’m guessing that I’m like this because it worked well for me and I love teaching in the classroom—I get a high from interacting with students regardless of their age. And OK, I also teach at an institution that has been around for quite some time!
Last week, The Chronicle of Higher Education ran a story about Tom Joyner’s new effort to help HBCU’s start online education programs. Joyner has a terrific reputation in the HBCU community; he not only attended Tuskegee, but he has given millions of dollars to HBCU’s—and, more than that, he has highlighted HBCUs on his radio show. He shines a spotlight on the accomplishments of HBCU’s weekly. Not too long ago, Joyner talked about the trend of African-Americans attending for-profit institutions (especially the University of Phoenix) on his radio show. He wondered why HBCU’s couldn’t offer the same conveniences that for-profits did, but with more academic rigor and a historic foundation on which to base the degree.
When I first heard this discussion on Joyner’s radio show, I was uneasy. I wondered how the HBCU experience could be replicated in an online program. However, after months of thinking about this topic and digging around for research on African-Americans and online programs, I would much rather see HBCU’s offer online degrees to African-American students than to have them attend for-profit instititons that have little expertise in educating African-Americans. I worry about the low graduation rates, high loan-default rates, and immense debt accumulated by African-Americans who attend for-profit institutions (see data from the National Center for Educational Statistics). This is not to say that some HBCU’s don’t have their own problems in this area. And I do acknowledge the success that some for-profits have had with African-American students.
If Joyner can create a sound program that is easily adaptable to the HBCU environment and is built upon the traditions and ethos of an HBCU education, I think he may be on to what many struggling (and some not-so-struggling) HBCU’s need. With online programming, HBCU’s could attract students who crave flexibility and increase their enrollments. The key to success will be to offer degree programs for which there is a clear market and readily available jobs. In addition, Joyner and the HBCU’s will have to advertise the online programs in nontraditional ways—much like for-profit institutions do. Advertising at bus stops, in grocery stores, in shopping malls, on the Internet, and on television is a staple of for-profit education, and it works with nontraditional students and adult learners who crave flexibility and convenience.
The biggest strength that Joyner has going for him is his reputation. He is highly respected among African-American communities as well as among white business communities. He has a brand that has been successful. Hopefully, he can bring this success to the online education community and enhance the livelihood of HBCU’s across the nation.
9 Responses to An Online HBCU Degree?
trendisnotdestiny - September 6, 2010 at 12:53 pm
I struggle with this a tad… Often, I have to come off my pedestal about the business plan associated with on-line learning to conceed that benefits can and do exist… And I am also comforted by the fact that resources are being harnessed for HBCUs…However, I do not see how on-line degrees (for-profit) will actually translate into meaningful gains in this environment of wage disparity, racist financial predation and corporate benevolence for only those who replicate free market values of colonization… In other words, this could be exactly like the sub-prime mortgage affair where the consumers of the product experience the least gain with the highest amount of risk….And Chorus sings: There is no alternative (TINA)
peoplegogy - September 7, 2010 at 6:59 am
There is nothing wrong with for-profit or online universities in general. Are there some terrible, mismanaged ones out there? Yes! But, there are some terrible mismanaged private and state universities out there as well. The reasons for the low graduation rates and higher loan debt among a certain group of African Americans has everything to do with high school preparation and the need to fund most of their college education through loans. It is not a phenomenon relegated to for-profit and online universities. It is a problem in all post-secondary education institutions.Having attended an HBCU and currently a doctoral student at an online university (Capella), I don’t believe that the HBCU experience can be recreated for an online environment. That said, via a social networking site, an HBCU can create a more dynamic and supportive online learning experience for its students. However, nothing can replace hanging out on the lawn, kicking it in the dorms, going to football games, or meeting influential African American professionals up close and personal. The feeling from being on a Black college campus, with its history and promise, is an experience that can only be lived offline.
cwinton - September 7, 2010 at 10:10 am
Perhaps offering online degrees can be structured so as to aupport the mission of HBCUs, but one has to wonder how the facelessness of such an approach can provide the very things that justify identifying a school as an HBCU.
fmcfeete1906 - September 7, 2010 at 10:48 am
How does adding the “HBCU experience” increase academic achievement?
posymm - September 7, 2010 at 10:59 am
I am the product of inner city Detroit public schools. I dreamed of attending a 4 year HBCU school but seeing that I had a daughter to raise the likelihood of that happening was small. With determiniation in one hand, I opted for the junior college experience that allowed me to apply and be accepted into a nontraditional degree completion program. My next step was to go on and tackle a graduate degree in management(another degree completion program). Both programs were rigorous. Today, I am a student at Capella University working on a doctorate degree in Post Secondary & Adult Education.Why can there not be several paths that lead to earning a college degree? Tom Joyner’s new effort to help HBCU’s start online education programs is just that, another path that will allow diversity of choice to learners wanting to better themselves by obtaining an education. There is notheing wrong with for profit educational systems. It should be an option to those that decide that is what is best for them.
ednewsdotcom - September 7, 2010 at 9:26 pm
“I worry about the low graduation rates, high loan-default rates, and immense debt accumulated by African-Americans who attend for-profit institutions (see data from the National Center for Educational Statistics). This is not to say that some HBCU’s don’t have their own problems in this area.”Marybeth, I do get your point, but I worry more about HBCU’s dominating the list of college dropout factories. http://bit.ly/blRBp3 As an Alumnus of Morehouse College, and a doctoral student in a program that includes a small percentage of hybrid classes (half in class lecture, and half facilitated via BlackBoard, Moodle, etc., compressed video, etc., ) I can honestly say that it might not be in the interests of future HBCU students to increase the online model of classroom instruction. It makes sense for HBCU’s and any kind of school or college for that matter, to embrace on-line delivery. It fits the business model of providing education services to customers (students) in an efficient manner. If HBCU’s only followed a business model, and did not recognize or operate from an understanding of their vital role of educating the descendants of slaves whose right to education (as well as life and liberty) was brutally denied, we would have less of a collective conscientiousness than we currently possess. I agree with ‘peoplegogy’ and other commenters above who feel that the Black College Experience cannot be replicated in an on-line environment. I’m not sending my son to Morehouse in 15 years because of the flexibility of their on-line degree program. I’m sending him to my Alma Mater because I believe that four years there will help him to become the well balanced man that envision him becoming. I hope to be dropping him off in a nurturing liberal arts environment that will broaden his academic, social and professional horizons, expose him to professors who are diverse in thought and who will challenge him to think independently. I want him to be a Morehouse Man. You cant get that with a gmail account and a DSL connection. It takes at least four long years in the haven known as SouthWest ATL.Michael R. HicksPublisherEDleadernews.com
drboze11 - September 8, 2010 at 9:56 pm
Reaching out to an online delivery model could keep many HBCU’s from becoming extinct. I never attended a HBCU; I appreciate their history and what they have represented to so many African Americans, (my ancestors), over time.(taking a deep breath) Maybe the traditional HBCU model has outlived its usefulness.
arrive2__net - September 13, 2010 at 2:27 am
HBCU pursuing growth into online education programs makes sense in that it is where much of their potential market is, and they have the potential to make a difference in the lives of many by going in that direction. You have to respect Tom Joyner’s initiative in promoting the success of HBCU in online education. I think most online universities have to work to maintain their market share and recruit the quantity of students required the keep their programs prosperous and growing. Therefore the long term future of HBCU may be in reaching out to all who need a credible online education. Bernard SchusterArrive2.net
lenearc1 - September 21, 2010 at 4:30 pm
#2 I agree with you whole heartedly. Turning HBCUs into ‘For Profit’ Colleges and Universities defeats the mission, purpose, and intent of HBCUs. Like Mr. Joyner, I attended Tuskegee University. (When he attended it was probably Tuskegee Institute…). I enjoyed kicking it on the yard, dinners with professors, engaging politcal and societal discussions that took place in the cafe as well as the classroom and realize that the experience I had is impossible in an online ‘for profit’ environment. I understand that many may wish to make HBCUs more ‘convenient’, but convenience completely misses the whole point of the HBCU. Historically Black Colleges and Universities provide a familial atmosphere where everyone in the administration, the faculty, and your academic peers are all invested in your success. The schools are not ‘for profit’ although, I am not naive enough to believe that these schools don’t require revenues to continue. Case in point: Morris Brown. A ‘for profit’ Tuskegee graduate is certainly misleading. Their degree may be the same, but it’s doubtful that their expeience of hitting a return key to redo wrong answers pales in comparison to experiencing what the school has to offer live and in person.