{"id":16288,"date":"2025-06-12T15:02:50","date_gmt":"2025-06-12T15:02:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/?p=16288"},"modified":"2025-06-12T15:09:51","modified_gmt":"2025-06-12T15:09:51","slug":"hbcus-are-empowering-their-programs-and-their-students-with-new-levels-of-technology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/12\/hbcus-are-empowering-their-programs-and-their-students-with-new-levels-of-technology\/","title":{"rendered":"HBCUs are Empowering Their Programs and Their Students with New Levels of Technology"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Kendrick Brown, PhD, Morehouse College<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Hazel Trice Edney<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Guest Column<\/em><\/p>\n

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) produce 20 percent of all of America\u2019s Black college graduates. That includes 80 percent of Black judges; 70 percent of Black doctors; 50 percent of Black teachers; and 25 percent of Black students who major in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).<\/p>\n

Despite this level of success in educating primarily the descendants of enslaved people \u2013 many who are the first to attend college from their families – HBCUs have suffered historical challenges, including underfunding and difficulty attracting and retaining students. That is why educational experts are now applauding the fact that HBCUs are increasingly opening its virtual classrooms to non-traditional students through online learning programs. It is a strategy that is not only enhancing the lives of older adults and professionals, but also positively impacting the growth of historically Black institutions overall.<\/p>\n

These are the crucial points made in a\u00a0new report<\/a>\u00a0titled \u201cHow HBCUs are Using Technology to Improve Outcomes and Better Fulfill Their Mission.\u201d It is winning wide acclaim for its research on HBCU successes in online education.<\/p>\n

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Hamil Harris, Morgan State University<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cMany HBCUs realize that traditional on-campus programs alone can\u2019t serve all the students who need them,\u201d writes Kristoffer Adams, a board member of the Black Legislative Leadership Network and author of the report. \u201cOnline education has become a key solution \u2013 especially for working adults, military members, and students in rural areas. By working with Online Program Managers (OPMs) \u2013 companies that help schools create online programs \u2013 HBCUs can reach students they couldn\u2019t before.\u201d<\/p>\n

The report, researched by Adams, is being released and discussed this week during a Nashville gathering of the HBCU Caucus Convening, a conference of HBCU officials, advocates and associates coming together to explore ways to expand, empower and move HBCUs forward.<\/p>\n

Adams believes his findings may be key to the advancement of HBCUs across the nation. But he is not alone as professors and college administrators laud the benefits of online learning; especially the benefits to HBCUs.<\/p>\n

The report quotes Kendrick Brown, PhD, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Morehouse College, explaining how the OPMs have worked to extend Morehouse beyond its Atlanta campus. The college now offers an online bachelor\u2019s degree in business administration with about 20 courses, serving about 300 students, the report describes.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt first, Morehouse didn\u2019t have the technology, experience, or knowledge to offer online classes,\u201d Brown says in the report. But with assistance from the OPM, it not only created the program, but was able to maintain its own Morehouse admission and grading policies, which ensure that the \u201conline program is just as rigorous as on-campus classes.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Simone Campbell, PhD, Howard University<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Rigor is largely the key, says Hamil Harris, a veteran journalist who reported nearly 25 years for the Washington Post. Harris has been teaching online at Maryland\u2019s Morgan State University and is set to teach three additional online courses at Morgan this fall.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not for the lighthearted,\u201d says Harris, an adjunct professor. \u201cPeople think that online is just talking and listening. No. It\u2019s so important to know what online teaching means. It\u2019s not just to go to Zoom. Online education is evolving.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harris says there are students who have not passed his online class because they failed to adhere to the high ethical standards such as using artificial intelligence \u201cin an improper way\u2026There is zero tolerance for cheating.\u201d<\/p>\n

The students are coming from every walk of life. Though Harris teaches in the School of Communications at Morgan, most of his students are non-journalism majors.<\/p>\n

Students in his online media literacy class have included bankers, engineers, chemists, Fortune 500 executives, sports stars, police officers and even FBI agents, he said, illustrating the professional diversity of those who are now being drawn to HBCUs due to online programs. As technology advances, working people often find the need to increase their education in order to advance.<\/p>\n

Symone Campbell, Ph.D., a researcher at the Siegel Family Endowment and professor of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Ethics at Howard University, agrees as she is currently teaching in a graduate program that is entirely online. It is Howard’s newest master\u2019s degree program – a data science and analytics program.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, the whole point of this program being online is to be able to market to people who are not able to come to the campus. That allows us to reach so many hundreds of more people than we would be able to if it was an in-person program,\u201d says Campbell, who describes herself as being passionate about advancing technology that serves the needs of underrepresented students.<\/p>\n

In an interview, Campbell points out that the program is also in sync with the historic and cultural mission of HBCUs to provide educational experiences that enhance the progress of African-Americans and other historically oppressed people.<\/p>\n

For example, \u201cwe need more black data scientists; we need more data scientists that are coming from backgrounds that are not White males because all of these technology innovations that are being created over the years, we know that White men are creating them. And they’re being created with their biases. So, we need to train Black data scientists and scientists of color with social justice mindsets, etc.,\u201d Campbell said.\u00a0She adds that most of the classes are also in the evening, which is a major convenience for people who work during the day.<\/p>\n

But technology at HBCUs have proven to be as beneficial to the institution itself as it is to the students. Online programs have been credited for the revival of Morris Brown College, which 22 years ago lost its accreditation and thousands of students amidst financial and legal problems. With its accreditation reinstated only three years ago, its current president, Dr. Kevin James, says in Adams\u2019 report that – partially because of online programs – \u201cThe fact that we\u2019re still here, still open, is a miracle in itself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adams says he believes the benefits of online teaching and the growth of technology by HBCUs could grow astronomically for HBCUs and students in the years to come.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the ultimate benefit is that the Black community can now reconvene and figure out how we want to go about taking care of our families,\u201d says Adams in an interview. \u201cThings are being reshuffled. We don\u2019t have to worry about having to go to class in the morning or the middle of the day.\u00a0We don’t have time for that. But we can go online and kind of work at our own pace or something similar to it. This will allow us to pursue newer and brighter opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Hazel Trice Edney Guest Column Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) produce 20 percent of all of America\u2019s Black college graduates. That includes 80 percent of Black judges; 70 percent of Black doctors; 50 percent of Black teachers; and 25 percent of Black students who major in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Despite […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"wf_post_folders":[297],"class_list":["post-16288","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-education"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16288","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16288"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16288\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16298,"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16288\/revisions\/16298"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16288"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16288"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16288"},{"taxonomy":"wf_post_folders","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wf_post_folders?post=16288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}