African-Americans are increasingly seeking degrees and post-graduate education, especially online, and especially at for-profit colleges and universities. Overall, about 43 percent of the students at for-profit colleges are members of minority groups, with the University of Phoenix leading the way.
It leads the country in number of bachelor’s degrees awarded to African-Americans and has reported that more than 27 percent of its enrollment is African-American.
Now there is a new program designed to showcase more than 25 online degree programs at historically black colleges and universities.
Tuesday, nationally syndicated media personality Tom Joyner launched HBCUsOnline as a marketing vehicle to encourage students to apply to Hampton University, the 142-year-old internationally renowned university based in Hampton, Virginia, offering more than 22 online courses.
The other participating HBCU is Texas Southern University, best known for its Thurgood Marshall School of Law, Jesse H. Jones School of Business, Barbara Jordan-Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs, and its College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, which has produced 27 percent of all African-American pharmacists in the country.
Other HBCUs are expected to join, and additional courses and programs will be added to the network to create the most comprehensive educational services company for black colleges in the world.
“Everyone knows I’m passionate about my HBCUs, and I’m working hard to find ways for my beloved black colleges to survive well into – and beyond – the 21st century,” said Joyner, whose “Tom Joyner Morning Show” airs in 115 markets, reaching more than 8 million listeners every week.
“HBCUsOnline is my way of staying current and relevant. HBCUsOnline is offering a convenient, easy-to-use way for students to complete their undergraduate degrees or better yet, get a graduate degree. We’re going treat every student as if they’re on an HBCU campus. They’ll be part of community that will be with them from registration to graduation!” Joyner said in a statement.
Joyner will continue to operate the 12-year-old Tom Joyner Foundation, which has raised more than $60 million to help students remain enrolled in HBCUs and continues to seek new scholarships and sources of funding.
Thomas Joyner, Jr. has stepped down from running the day-to-day operation of the foundation to become president of HBCUsOnline.
The foundation is aggressively working on developing new scholarships and diversifying its funding.
The younger Joyner acknowledged last week in an interview with The Chronicle of Higher Education that for-profit and online colleges attract large numbers of black students, many of whom are his father’s listeners who, he said, would be better served by black colleges and universities, which have “a stronger legacy and history” of helping African-American students succeed.
Like other online programs, HBCUsOnline students must apply and be accepted to participating universities and take classes taught by the schools’ faculty. Once the required coursework is completed, students will receive a degree from the accredited college or university.
One of the distinctive features in the program is Student Support Plus, a hands-on advising service that provides individualized assistance from registration to graduation, designed to create the nurturing environment that are a hallmark of HBCUs.
The target audience for HBCUsOnline is working adult students who may benefit from more flexible scheduling.
Thomas Joyner Jr., said the company would take advantage of social media to help students feel connected to a variety of elements of the black college experience. He noted, however, that the philanthropic efforts of the Tom Joyner Foundation would remain separate from HBCUsOnline.
Via: Black America Web.com
