RALEIGH, North Carolina -- The North Carolina Senate’s proposed $21 billion budget would have the University of North Carolina system shut down “small, unprofitable” Elizabeth City State University.
ECSU, a historically black school in the northeast corner of the state, reports an enrollment of 2,421, including 2,155 full-time students. Among its students, 1,777 are black, 380 are white, according to the school’s website. North Carolina residents account for 2,163 students and the average SAT score is 889. Entering students have a 3.15 high school grade point average.
The proposal is the latest turn by Republican leaders to trim the UNC system. Last year, Gov. Pat McCrory suggested merging or closing campuses as well as eliminating course offerings to save money. That tone rankled HBCU alumni and supporters who fear the state will target the state’s black colleges, which generally are smaller and perennially underfunded compared to their larger peers.
A study published last month by University of Pennsylvania researchers found that North Carolina’s public black colleges have struggled to keep recover from the recession of 2008, which led to deep cuts in state funding. With a higher proportion of first-generation and low-income students on campus, HBCU enrollments have fallen or remained stagnant over the last five years.
ECSU enrollment has dropped from 3,307 in the 2010-11 academic year to 2,421 in 2013-14.
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