Beginning in Fall 2015, California community college transfer students who meet certain academic criteria will be guaranteed admission to nine historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), thanks to an agreement the California Community Colleges Board of Governors and the leaders of the institutions signed at the board’s meeting this week.
“The California Community Colleges is working on multiple fronts to create avenues of opportunity for our students,” said California Community Colleges Board of Governors President Geoffrey L. Baum. “This agreement opens a new and streamlined transfer pathway for our students to some of the finest and culturally diverse institutions of higher learning in the United States.”
The nine HBCUs participating in the agreement are Bennett College in Greensboro, NC; Dillard University in New Orleans, LA; Fisk University in Nashville, TN; Lincoln University of Missouri in Jefferson City, MO; Philander Smith College in Little Rock, AK; Stillman College in Tuscaloosa, AL; Talladega College in Talladega, AL; Tuskegee University in Tuskegee, AL; and Wiley College in Marshall, TX.
Under the agreement, students who obtain a transfer-level associate degree with a GPA of 2.5 or higher and complete either the University of California Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum, or the California State University General Education Breadth pattern, will be guaranteed admission with junior standing after applying. Other advantages transfer students can enjoy under the agreement include priority consideration for housing, consideration for transfer scholarships for students with a 3.2 or higher GPA, and pre-admission advising. For certain majors, students may need to fulfill additional prerequisites and other requirements.
Eight of the participating colleges and universities are private institutions. Lincoln University of Missouri is public, and will offer in-state tuition for California community college transfer students.
This agreement supports a White House initiative, led by Dr. George Cooper, to strengthen and expand the capacity of HBCUs to provide quality higher education to students.
“California community college students and the nine participating schools will benefit immensely from the agreement,” said Cooper. “The schools will have an even larger pool of gifted students knocking on their doors, and California community college students will be guaranteed transfer to four-year institutions with rich histories, traditions and track records of success.”
HBCUs were founded to serve the higher education needs of African-American students, though they are open to students of any ethnicity. These colleges and universities are typically smaller than other schools. Many classes are taught by professors rather than teaching assistants in a nurturing and supportive environment, with many opportunities for student leadership development.
There are 105 HBCUs in the country, with most located in the South and East Coast. Many HBCUs were founded following the Civil War, after the Morrell Act permitting the development of land grant colleges was signed by President Abraham Lincoln.
For more information on the new guaranteed transfer agreement and the participating colleges and universities, please visit www.cccco.edu/HBCUTransfer.