N.C. A&T Enrollment Drops

Black Issues in Higher Education, Dec 10, 1998

GREENSBORO -- Surprised by yet another enrollment decline, historically Black North Carolina A&T University may have to drop the very programs it hoped would make it more competitive with larger, predominantly White colleges.

A&T's enrollment, which peaked four years ago at 8,050 students, has declined since then to 7,326 this fall, a 9 percent decrease from 1994.

Last year, a similar enrollment decline forced the university to eliminate 24 faculty positions plus other support staff, cutting about $2.5 million from its $73 million state-funded budget.

Without more students, the campus could be forced to cut its budget for the second year in a row, jeopardizing about a dozen faculty positions. The cuts could also endanger several new programs begun by A&T, including a joint master's degree in social work with UNC-Greensboro and a doctoral program in industrial engineering.

Of A&T's 442 full-time faculty positions, about 40 are unfilled and will remain open until $1.5 million in budget cuts can be made, said Harold Martin, vice chancellor for academic affairs.

While A&T's enrollment is down, the University of North Carolina-Greensboro, UNC-Charlotte, East Carolina University, and other state schools have reported record numbers of Black students in their freshman classes.

One option for A&T is to target White students, who would qualify for minority presence grants if they attend a historically Black UNC school. Only 8 percent of A&T students are White, making the university the least racially diverse of the five historically Black UNC schools.