Study: co-ed HBCUs not meeting Title IX

University Business, April, 2008

THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO GROW ENROLLMENT. ACADEMICS ARE important, but some students might be attracted to art, while others prefer sports. Of course, adding new sports can be tricky because of Title IX, the 1972 federal law that requires equal treatment of men's and women's sports in K-12 and higher education. A recent study by the College Sports Council showed that nearly three in four of the 75 co-ed historically black colleges and universities are out of compliance with the proportionality standard part of the law, which requires that opportunities and funding are proportional to enrollment.

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"HBCUs are a microcosm of the wider problem of the disparity in genders," says CSC Chairman Eric Pearson. "The disparity is most severe in the African-American and Hispanic communities." A 2004 report from the Dellums Commission showed that black males accounted for 2.8 percent of undergraduate enrollment nationwide. Pearson argues that one way HBCUs could boost male enrollment is by adding more sports teams, a tactic prevented by the proportionality standard. Howard University (D.C.) is often used as an example of the difficulty presented by proportionality. In 2002, Howard administrators cut baseball and wrestling and added women's bowling, but now six years later they are out of compliance again.

Schools can demonstrate compliance with the law through proportionality, providing evidence of improving opportunities, or by gauging interest through surveys. Although the law allows IHEs to use surveys to prove student demand is being met, the NCAA discourages it. Pearson says gender equality advocates also frown on surveys. "Many schools won't talk about surveys if they are using them," he adds. "Our goal is to educate people about the problem with proportionality standards. And we hope the NCAA allows all the options, including surveys."--A.M.