Concerns about enrollment plague college leaders across the country, who fear what will happen to their institutions as fewer 18-year-olds graduate from high school and fading faith in higher education deters others. But even as many predominantly white, regional and private colleges struggle to fill seats, some historically Black colleges and universities are seeing heightened—in some cases record—interest, applications and enrollment.As one expert put it, the increased interest in HBCUs can be explained by a long-standing message on a digital billboard on a Baltimore campus: “Morgan State University, where Black lives have always mattered.”Across the country, 42 of 101 HBCUs grew their enrollment between 2019 and 2024, according to federal data. Many increased head count significantly in that period: Howard University grew by 50 percent, Morgan State by 42 percent, Virginia State University by 27 percent and Elizabeth City State University by 23 percent. Since then, enrollment has continued to climb, according to several colleges that provided enrollment figures to Inside Higher Ed. (Some predominantly white institutions have also seen unexpected enrollment gains.)
