HBCU’s Student Loan Debt
Arkansas has four historically black colleges and universities, Philander Smith College, the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, Shorter College and Arkansas Baptist College, which are universities established before the civil rights act of 1964 that were established to primarily serve African American students. All four Arkansas historically black institutions have a higher median debt than the average $9,185, according to college Scorecard.
Many students who attend HBCUs are from low-income backgrounds, or are first generation students. Because of this, students may have to borrow at higher rates at historically black universities than at other institutions, according to the UNCF report Fewer Resources, More Debt: Loan Debt Burdens Students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
Philander Smith College has the second highest first generation student loan debt at $20,000, $500 less than Hendrix University which has the highest first generation student loan debt. Philander Smith College also has the third highest median student loan debt in Arkansas at $19,000, and the highest median and first generation student loan debt for all historically black universities, according to College Scorecard.
Nearly 64 percent of HBCU graduates borrowed over $20,000 in loans in comparison to 37 percent of non-HBCU students. Four-year HBCUs cost on average $21,707, less than four-year non-HBCUs, which are on average $30,108, according to the UNCF report.
Philander Smith College, Shorter College and Arkansas Baptist College are all private institutions, according to College Scorecard.
Private institutions in Arkansas have a higher tuition than public schools, but tend to offer more resources, according to College Values Online.
The University of Arkansas is a public institution that is below the national average for student debt. Loans are not pushed onto students, and all loans offered are federal loans through FAFSA, Denise Burford the associate director of financial aid.
While the UofA helps all students with financial aid, not just specifically first generation students, the UofA does not hear from students after they graduate, Burford said.
“Unfortunately [we] don’t hear the struggles so much because we don’t talk to [former first generation students] after they graduate,” Burford said. “We don’t have a reason for them to be back in contact us necessarily, usually they will work with our loan providers to do income loan replacement.”
The UofA teaches students about loans and financial aid in its University Perspectives class, which all students are required to take, Burford said.
Senior Ashley Bratton does not remember having been taught about student loans in her University Perspectives class, she said. She is not reminded about student loans in any of her classes, or by the university. The only time she is reminded is through updated emails about her loans, she said.
Freshman Elizabeth Anderson University Perspectives class did teach her about loans, and how much students were paying to go to school every year, she said.
“It just depends on the professor I think,” Anderson said.
A way to decrease the amount of debt HBCUs and non-HBCUs institutions is for federal policymakers to reshape federal student aid policies and programs to help students secure more resources, according to the UNCF report.
Sources:
Denise Burford 479-575-6965
Ashley Bratton 817-201-7195
Elizabeth Anderson 913-235-7130
Fewer Resources, More Debt: Loan Debt Burdens Students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities Report
College Values Online
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