Last year, Florida A&M University’s School of Nursing achieved a 93 percent pass rate on the national licensure exam, not only surpassing many similar institutions but also exceeding the national standard. As impressive as this achievement is, it is not an anomaly.
Despite being historically underfunded, historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) like Florida A&M have consistently produced exceptional outcomes for their students. Yet the conversation around HBCUs in higher education often focuses solely on how to secure more resources for these institutions, rather than exploring how other colleges and universities can replicate their success.
In any other sector, their outcomes would be celebrated and studied as models of success. But the narrative around HBCUs remains one of perpetual struggle rather than innovation.
HBCUs deserve stronger support and funding, but they are not charity cases — and their impact extends beyond serving any single type of student. Rather than solely asking how to assist HBCUs, we should also be asking: What can the rest of higher education learn from these leading institutions?
As a graduate of Florida A&M, I know firsthand how transformative HBCUs can be. My path — from grappling with learning differences in high school to ultimately earning a doctorate — was shaped by a culture of high expectations and deep investment from faculty.
I still remember one professor who greeted every student in class as if they had already earned the title “doctor.” It wasn’t simply a pep talk. It was a mindset-shift that planted the belief that we were capable of something greater, even when we didn’t yet see it in ourselves. That kind of belief in students is why, despite making up just 3 percent of U.S. colleges and universities, HBCUs produce nearly 20 percent of all Black graduates. They produce 80 percent of Black judges, half of all Black doctors and lawyers, and a quarter of Black STEM graduates.
These stats are often cited as a testament to the central role HBCUs play in Black educational opportunity in the U.S. — and rightly so. But they don’t tell the whole story. HBCUs aren’t only helping Black learners succeed. They’re building systems that can help all students succeed. They are proving that student success isn’t solely a matter of resources. It’s about fostering connection, high expectations and a deeper understanding of the whole student.
HBCUs are grounded in a belief that every student deserves to be supported and challenged. They recognize that students bring with them real-life experiences — such as family responsibilities, work obligations and community commitments — that shape how they engage with higher education. Instead of viewing those realities as obstacles, HBCUs structure their support systems around them.
That approach is especially relevant now, as the so-called “non-traditional learner” becomes the new norm. Increasingly, today’s students are working adults, the first in their families to attend college or come from low-income backgrounds. They’re balancing school with jobs, caregiving and other responsibilities.
Higher education has struggled to meet the needs of this growing population of learners. Students who work while enrolled, for instance, are 20 percent less likely to graduate than those who don’t work. Meanwhile, first-generation learners are 16 percent less likely to graduate than those whose parents went to college. At a time when institutions are rethinking what student success requires, many HBCUs have already built a blueprint worth following.
HBCUs have long understood the power of collaboration. Through partnerships spearheaded by the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and Education Advancement, for example, and initiatives led by United Negro College Fund, HBCUs across the country are working together to provide thousands of students with success coaching and other support. The broader higher education community should be eager to learn from these efforts and adopt the proven strategies HBCUs have spent decades honing.
It’s time to change the narrative. HBCUs are not charity cases. They’re not relics of the past. And they aren’t just models of success for Black students — they are models of success for all students. They are quiet powerhouses of innovation that have been addressing higher education’s most pressing challenges for generations.
Closing equity gaps, raising completion rates and preparing students for success after graduation means looking to HBCUs not as institutions in need of saving, but as institutions worth investing in and studying. They have long been models of what is possible. Now it’s time for the rest of higher education not only to take note but also to take inspiration.
Henri LaSane is InsideTrack’s associate vice president of HBCU programs.
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