Beginning fall 2022, three of the five historically Black colleges and universities in North Carolina will be able to admit more out-of-state students.
Last year, the University of North Carolina System’s Board of Governors raised the out-of-state cap for all five HBCUs to 25%. On April 7, they voted to raise the out-of-state enrollment cap again for North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, North Carolina Central University and Elizabeth City State University.
Now, the out-of-state cap for NC A&T and NCCU will be 35%, while the cap for ECSU will go up to 50%.
NC A&T saw a 31% increase in out-of-state applicants in the last year, according to Dawn Nail, interim associate vice provost for management and head of undergraduate admissions at NC A&T.
She attributes the rise to the growing reputation of NC A&T and HBCUs in the country. NC A&T is the largest HBCU in the nation and has been reported to be the most successful in North Carolina.
Nail also cited financial incentives, which come from out-of-state students paying more for tuition. Tuition for the 2020-2021 academic year cost about $13,500 more for NC A&T out-of-state students.
According to Chancellor Karrie Dixon, ECSU will be able to enroll about 100 more students, with nearly all of them coming from out-of-state.
“We have the capacity to accept more students, and I thank the Board of Governors for lifting the out-of-state enrollment cap, which is important for our continued growth,” Dixon wrote to WUNC Public Radio.
However, limits at non-HBCU UNC system schools remain unaffected. At universities including the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, out-of-state enrollment is limited to 18% to prioritize educating in-state students.
Fayetteville State University and Winston-Salem State University, both public HBCUs, will maintain a 25% out-of-state cap.
The increase of out-of-state caps for the select HBCUs will not affect their emphasis on admitting in-state students. Nail affirmed that potential out-of-state students will not take the place of eligible North Carolina applicants to NC A&T.
According to Dixon, admitting all eligible in-state students “will continue to be the top priority for admittance to ECSU.”
NCCU officials declined to respond to a request for more information.
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