“I was so excited when I heard the news because it made me stand up and say okay, people realize there is a deficit among HBCUs regarding online learning,” said Dr. Patrice Glenn Jones, executive director of online education and programs at Alabama State University, a public HBCU. “To have UNCF, a nationally recognized organization, do this is pivotal for connecting private HBCUs. We are much stronger when we work together, particularly HBCUs.”
UNCF is a national philanthropic organization that funds scholarships for Black students and general scholarship funds for 37 private HBCUs. Deloitte Digital is a creative strategy, digital, and technology consulting company.
UNCF received more than $10 million to fund the HBCUv initiative from the Karsh Family Foundation, Lilly Foundation, Citi Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Bank of America Charitable Foundation. Yet UNCF has stated there remains a need for additional funding to expand HBCUv’s reach.
“With HBCUs, we have a group of institutions that punch above their weight, that do a better job of serving low-income and underserved students, but they haven’t been given a chance to innovate like other colleges,” said Julian Thompson, director of strategy at UNCF and part of the team leading HBCUv. “What we hope to do with HBCUv is give the leaders of these institutions the time and energy for new ideas to emerge in these spaces to help students succeed. I’m really excited about that.”
The remote learning hub will let students take courses for credit and connect with fellow students and faculty at participating HBCUs. Beginning next year, nine private HBCUs with about 8,000 students will join a pilot version of HBCUv. Synchronous and synchronous learning options will be available to students. Instructors will also be able to get predictive analytics on student performance and track students’ progress.
