Affordability, completion, and institutional strength—especially for HBCUs that anchor Black excellence.
Barriers
Sticker prices, complex aid, and wealth gaps drive higher borrowing for Black students. Underfunded HBCUs carry historic deficits despite outsized results.
Policy Solutions
- Need-Based Aid: Expand Pell and state grants; emergency aid to prevent stop-outs.
- Debt Relief & Income-Driven Plans: Simplify and ensure equitable access.
- Strengthen HBCUs: Capital financing, research funding, and endowment parity.
- Pathways: Dual enrollment, community-college transfer, and paid internships.
- Student Success: Advising, tutoring, and completion grants targeted by need.
