Starting in the fall, three North Carolina HBCUs will increase the amount of out-of-state students they are willing to accept, while two HBCUs in the area will keep their caps at the same level. Learn more in The Chronicle story by Jamael Smith below.

Beginning fall 2022, three of the five historically Black colleges and universities in North Carolina will be able to admit more out-of-state students.

Last year, the University of North Carolina System’s Board of Governors raised the out-of-state cap for all five HBCUs to 25%. On April 7, they voted to raise the out-of-state enrollment cap again for North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, North Carolina Central University and Elizabeth City State University. 

Now, the out-of-state cap for NC A&T and NCCU will be 35%, while the cap for ECSU will go up to 50%. 

NC A&T saw a 31% increase in out-of-state applicants in the last year, according to Dawn Nail, interim associate vice provost for management and head of undergraduate admissions at NC A&T. 

She attributes the rise to the growing reputation of NC A&T and HBCUs in the country. NC A&T is the largest HBCU in the nation and has been reported to be the most successful in North Carolina. 

Nail also cited financial incentives, which come from out-of-state students paying more for tuition. Tuition for the 2020-2021 academic year cost about $13,500 more for NC A&T out-of-state students.

According to Chancellor Karrie Dixon, ECSU will be able to enroll about 100 more students, with nearly all of them coming from out-of-state.

“We have the capacity to accept more students, and I thank the Board of Governors for lifting the out-of-state enrollment cap, which is important for our continued growth,” Dixon wrote to WUNC Public Radio.

However, limits at non-HBCU UNC system schools remain unaffected. At universities including the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, out-of-state enrollment is limited to 18% to prioritize educating in-state students.

Fayetteville State University and Winston-Salem State University, both public HBCUs, will maintain a 25% out-of-state cap.

The increase of out-of-state caps for the select HBCUs will not affect their emphasis on admitting in-state students. Nail affirmed that potential out-of-state students will not take the place of eligible North Carolina applicants to NC A&T.

According to Dixon, admitting all eligible in-state students “will continue to be the top priority for admittance to ECSU.”

NCCU officials declined to respond to a request for more information.