Chapter 4: Black Male Graduate Student Socialization at HBCUs: An Exploratory Survey Analysis

Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) have long represented an important partner in the American higher education enterprise (Anderson, 1988; Gasman, 2007). For example, we’ve known for years that while HBCUs constitute just 3% of higher education institutions, they graduate about 20% of all Black undergraduate students in the country (Allen et al., 2007). This is not surprising though. A fairly consistent line of inquiry suggests that in comparison to predominantly White institutions (PWIs), HBCUs provide more supportive, nurturing, and welcoming learning environments that help engender Black student success (Allen, 1992; Fleming, 1984; Palmer & Stayhorn, 2008; Terenzini et al., 1997). And many HBCUs achieve these outcomes with far fewer resources than comparable PWIs— what many have come to describe as “doing more with less” (Hawkins, 2004, p. 1). Other insights about HBCUs can be derived from scholarly literature as well.