U.S. Senator Doug Jones has introduced the Strengthening Minority-Serving Institutions Act which will increase mandatory funding levels from $255 million to $300 million for HBCUs and other minority-serving institutions of higher education.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently investigated the capital finance needs of HBCUs. Its report found that 46 percent of all HBCU buildings are in need of repair or replacement due to deferred maintenance. Compounding this challenge are the difficulties HBCUs face when attracting revenue from diverse sources and the smaller endowments they maintain, which can impact their credit rating.
