Minority Enrollment Demand for Higher Education at Historically Black Colleges and Universities from 1976 to 1998: An Empirical Analysis

Historically Black Colleges and Universities' (HBCUs) relative share of black students' total enrollment in higher education has been declining over the past three decades. Using annual data from 1976 to1998 and OLS procedures, the regression results show evidence from the parameter estimates that black students' enrollment at HBCUs is significantly determined by the real average cost of tuition and fees and the real average Pell Grant. The real median income of black households has a positive but not statistically significant coefficient in determining the variations observed in the enrollment level. Other explanatory variables included in the model with statistically coefficients are a dummy variable representing federal policies and law enforcement effort regarding higher education, and a trend variable representing demographic changes of the black population.