, exacerbated by enrollment bumps and a lack of affordable off-campus options. There is also a digital divide between some HBCUs and more well-financed predominantly White institutions, with disparities ranging from their cybersecurity infrastructure to the stability of WiFi.
If applications continue to flood in, Frederick said, “I’m not necessarily sure that’s a good thing because we have limited funding, and our capacity to support those numbers and expand enrollment is limited.” Thomas did not say if any admissions practices will change but said officials “will have to make sure we continue to admit an economically diverse group of students and continue to serve poor and working-class students,” as the they sort through large application pools.Although Florida outlawed race-based college admissions practices more than 20 years ago, schools in the state could still tweak their processes.
In Maryland, admissions officials are thinking of ways to give prospective students the chance to share their racial backgrounds. Bowie State University may add an essay component to applications, Aminta Hawkins Breaux, the school’s president, said. Admissions officials at Morgan State University in Baltimore are also thinking of using essay prompts, application questions or recommendation letters to encourage students to talk about their race.