Last week, FAMU Vice-President for Student Affairs William
Hudson informed the Board of Trustees’ Student Affairs Committee that the
university has enrolled 10,231 students for Fall 2014. That is 503 fewer
students than the 10,734 FAMU enrolled in Fall 2013.
Back in August, FAMU released a projection that had
enrollment at only 9,500.
FAMU’s enrollment increased between the fiscal years that ended in 2009 and 2011. But FAMU and many other historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) were hurt by stricter eligibility requirements for the federal PLUS Loan program that went into effect in October of 2011 and Pell Grant changes that began that same year.
The PLUS Loan and Pell Grant changes resulted in thousands
of low-income HBCU students being denied this critical source of financial aid
and either having to withdraw from school or delay their entry into college.
FAMU President Elmira Mangum said the federal financial aid
program overhaul led FAMU to lose about 2,000 students. Declining state support
and rising fees have made the situation even worse for many potential FAMU
students.
The Fall 2014 enrollment number suggests that many students
who did not have enough money to take classes during the Spring 2014 semester
have returned. Back in Spring 2014, FAMU only enrolled 9,721 students, 510
fewer than it has now at the start of the fall semester.
Some of the other big public HBCUs have started to make gains in
recovering from the damage caused by the federal financial aid crisis. North
Carolina A&T’s enrollment climbed 1.6 percent this year for a total of
10,734 students. Jackson State’s enrollment is up for the third consecutive
year. It has 9,508 students, an increase of 4.1 percent.