An HBCU was recently penalized for growing its student body.



WFMY News 2 reports that North Carolina A&T State (NC A&T) University has been fined $2 million for enrolling a large number of out-of-state freshman students. 

On Nov. 17, the UNC System went forward with the decision due to the university exceeding its enrollment cap.

What is NC A&T’s enrollment cap?

NC A&T has an enrollment cap of 35 percent.

According to the UNC System, 41 percent of NC A&T’s students were enrolled out-of-state in 2021.

While UNC System Board of Governors member, James Holmes stated that there will be a meeting in the future to discuss changes to the existing policy, for now, they “have a rule that is in place.”

According to the report, the UNC System recommends the $2 million be reallocated to the board’s UNC Need-Based Grant Financial Program.

NC A&T spokesperson, Todd Simmons, shares a statement:

“The University has expressed regret over exceeding the cap. We have put oversight enhancements in place to prevent this from happening again.”



Fellow board member Joel Ford is opposed to the UNC System fining NC A&T. 

“Fundamentally speaking, we have campuses and in time, environments that are struggling with enrollment, and here we have one of our HMSI’s (Historically Minority-Serving Institution) that is experiencing historical seasonal growth,” he said, according to the outlet. “Fundamentally, I cannot support a policy that’s going to take $2 million away from a university when in reality they can use every dime they can get to continue that mission.”

It’s evident that NC A&T has been succeeding in regard to prospective students seeking to attend. NC A&T alum and former professor, Loury Floyd credits the institution’s diversity for its growth.

 

“It’s really diverse. I think it is really rich when I was employed there as a faculty member and administrator I had an opportunity to work with students from California, we have this great international population, there are alumni literally worldwide and many of our alumni are really excited about the growth at North Carolina A&T,” Floyd said. 

Floyd added: “We all recognize that it is a policy. At the same time it’s the largest HBCU and how do we capitalize on the buzz surrounding them.”