California Community Colleges Create a Path to HBCUs

The road from community college to four-year schools is not well-traveled.

More than 80 percent of community college students intend to transfer to a four-year school, but only about 25 percent actually do it, according to a January report from the Teachers College at Columbia University. Just 17 percent of all community college students end up transferring and then earning a bachelor's degree within the next six years.

An initiative announced in March may help more California community college students become undergrads. Students who meet certain criteria can transfer to one of nine historically black colleges, such as Dillard University in Louisiana and Stillman College in Alabama, as juniors. The partnership goes into effect in the fall of 2015.

[Learn how liberal arts colleges are working to attract minority students.]

Education experts hope it will increase the higher education options for community college students in California. The state has more community colleges than any other, says Walter Bumphus, president of the American Association of Community Colleges. Experts also hope the partnership will further enrich the campuses at black colleges, many of which are struggling financially and facing declines in enrollment.

"It's a partnership whose time has come," says Bumphus. He and other experts say it's common for community colleges to have agreements with local historically black schools, but this partnership is unlike most others. "It's the first statewide system I've seen sign a partnership agreement with HBCUs."

California has a rich history with black colleges, which are usually located in the South, says Walter Kimbrough, president of Dillard University. The school draws 10 percent of its students from California, more than any other state, he says.

In the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s, Kimbrough says, African-Americans who graduated from HBCUs would often head West or North to find jobs. They would still have family in the South, though, and send their kids back to that part of the country for college. "There's still that connection," he says.

[Discover historically black colleges with a high freshman retention rate.]

A historically black college may offer a unique experience for African-Americans from California.

"It's a very diverse state, but more and more black students are finding themselves the numerical minorities in a lot of situations," Kimbrough says. "They're looking to have some experiences where they really are, I guess, immersed in their culture."

California is 6.6 percent black, according to the U.S. Census Bureau

There are strong benefits from attending a community college before enrolling at a four-year black college, experts say. Saving money is No. 1.

"UNCF member institutions are a good buy, but they're private," says Michael L. Lomax, president and CEO of the United Negro College Fund, an education organization that has 37 black colleges under its umbrella. Eight of the nine historically black schools included in the California partnership are members of UNCF.

[Decide if a historically black college is a good fit.]

Community colleges are usually cheaper than four-year schools. Students at a community college may pay a relatively low amount for tuition and fees while working toward their bachelor's degree, before moving to a four-year school.

"It will reduce your total cost of education," Bumphus says.

Once they make the transfer to a historically black college, they may still continue to save. "Private HBCUs are roughly half of the cost of the private schools in California," says Kimbrough from Dillard.

Community college students may also be better prepared for the academic challenges that await them at a four-year school.

"By the time a student finishes the community college, they become a little bit more mature, they become better at organizing their time around their studies and they more or less become a better student," says Bumphus.

Because historically black schools are open to students of all races, not just African-Americans can take advantage of the California partnership. Kimbrough from Dillard hopes white students in California community college use this opportunity as well.

"We've got to find, particularly white students, who will come out of their comfort zones," says Kimbrough, who says non-minorities can do this by being in environments where they are a numerical minority. "We aren't really going to make progress in terms of understanding each other if people only operate in an environment where they're the majority. And for most whites in America that is their experience."

Searching for a college? Get our complete rankings of Best Colleges.

Delece Smith-Barrow is an education reporter at U.S. News, covering graduate schools. You can follow her on Twitter or email her at dsmithbarrow@usnews.com.