Timmons says with rising tuition, she does not anticipate colleges and universities giving out more financial aid.
However, Beltran says those students who receive financial aid awards should not worry, adding that it is those students who are not eligible to receive financial aid awards who are going to be hit the hardest.
Jennifer Jiles, the interim senior director of marketing and communications for Clark Atlanta University in Georgia, says the university laid off faculty and consolidated classes in February when students did not return for the spring semester because of cost.
She says some students did not receive financial aid and student loans; as a result, they did not return to school.
Although Clark Atlanta’s tuition rate has remained stable, Jiles says the institution has seen a 28-percent decrease in its endowment because of the economic recession.
“People are giving less,” Jiles says. “They have to cut back.”
In the future, Jiles says the university hopes to look for ways to build relationships in the business community, try to increase and stabilize the enrollment, and recruit more students.
The impact of “the economic climate is not unique to HBCUs,” she says.
© Copyright 2005 by DiverseEducation.com
