In the past two years, Harris-Stowe State University has undergone a significant transformation in its identity and approach to meeting the higher education needs of St. Louis. Out of this transformation, a “new Harris-Stowe State University” has risen. Harris-Stowe’s historic mission has been to meet students at their current level of academic readiness and to provide opportunity and nurturing to guide them to success.
Through an ambitious academic agenda, the university now offers 31 high-impact majors and minors and is preparing to launch graduate and certificate programs in cybersecurity, healthcare administration and education. Also, expanding its global reach, the institution initiated its first study-abroad program with China’s prestigious Ningbo University in 2015. The university also has scholarly and social justice Centers of Excellence to educate the community.
At a glance, the university looks like many other college campuses. The campus is inviting, the outdoor spaces are green and expansive, and the facilities are contemporary and well-maintained. However, one key area that sets Harris-Stowe apart from its peers is a distinct pride in how the university embraces diversity as part of its overall value system.
Harris-Stowe’s mission (and the missions of HBCUs in general) is to proudly educate the underserved populations – most of whom live within a 15-mile radius of the university. Harris-Stowe is intentional about encouraging its brightest minds – innovative entrepreneurs, gifted educators and effective agents of social change – to transform our communities.
Harris-Stowe offers programs and services that help the region gain educational parity and cannot be easily replicated by other institutions. In 2014, the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) reported that only 22 percent of African Americans between the ages of 25 and 29 had obtained a four-year degree. Harris-Stowe is strategically and successfully working to improve this statistic. The vast majority of new Harris-Stowe applicants are first-generation college students.
Generally, the university’s enrollment is 80 to 85 percent African-American and from high schools in the St. Louis region. As a result, it has maintained high national rankings in the number and percentage of African Americans who graduate from its signature academic programs in mathematics and education.
However, there is still work to do. Harris-Stowe faculty and staff are investing in new strategies designed to increase retention and graduation rates. Some of these approaches originate from national models developed by Complete College America and USAFunds.
The university has also implemented internal systems that assess student successes and challenges in real time. Since the first freshmen entering now are in those models and systems, it will take four to six years of data to create a comprehensive picture of institutional outcomes. However, early data indicate that the university will see significant improvements in the retention of African-American males for the fall of 2016.
The fall 2015 first-year student enrollment increased 24.4 percent from the previous year –which is a record increase – yielding an overall 8.6 percent enrollment increase. This was the largest enrollment increase among state universities in Missouri. Two-year data (2014-15 and 2015-16) suggest that the university should anticipate a 30 percent increase in new student enrollment. Because the university expects to reach physical capacity in just 3-5 years, it is in the process of updating its master campus plan to manage the additional growth.
Keeping tuition affordable for our students remains a high priority for Harris-Stowe. Funding new initiatives can be particularly challenging for HBCUs. As most other public universities are struggling to manage operating costs, Harris-Stowe has become adept at diversifying its revenue streams. These efforts have allowed Harris-Stowe to sustain the most competitive tuition rate among Missouri four-year public institutions. The per-credit-hour rate remains steady at $199, with an annual full-time cost of attendance of just over $6,000.
Students are encouraged to take advantage of the university’s banded tuition policy that allows them to enroll in up to 16 credit hours for the price of 12, essentially getting one class free. This program not only encourages completion to graduation, but can reduce the final cost of a degree by 25 percent or more. Through this tuition-cap initiative, the university’s students realized a combined tuition savings of nearly $1 million in the 2015-2016 academic year.
Harris-Stowe students further benefit from an impressive and ever-growing portfolio of partnerships with area colleges and universities. These collaborative agreements provide direct pathways from undergraduate programs to advanced degrees in engineering, math, law, medicine and healthcare. In turn, these partnerships help attract more highly qualified applicants.
As the State of Missouri continues to pursue the 2025 Big Goal in which 60 percent of Missourians will have a postsecondary credential, Harris-Stowe’s mission is to ensure that the outcomes reflect the diversity of the region.
As with any large-scale, progressive change, Harris-Stowe has its share of challenges and detractors. Context is everything to a historically black university, and for those intent on derision, ignoring context is the easiest way to displace a narrative of success.
For example, HBCUs are often judged by their graduation rate as reported to the Integrated Postsecondary Education System (IPEDS). Harris-Stowe’s graduation rate is approximately 10 percent based on reporting six-year graduation rates for first-time, fulltime freshmen only who entered the university in 2009. However, the impact of the strategic initiatives of the current administration cannot be accurately assessed until 2020.
The majority of HSSU graduates, who are part-time and transfer students, are eliminated from the institution’s graduation rate. Conversely, factoring in non-traditional, transfer students and students who choose to attend college part-time creates a more meaningful context and could double or even triple cohort graduation statistics in a given year.
While others have sought to limit the institution’s positive trajectory through rhetoric and isolated anecdotes, the university’s campus community and wide range of supporters remain steadfast in promoting Harris-Stowe. They recognize the increasingly important role the institution plays as an economic and intellectual engine for St. Louis. The university is fulfilling its mission as a second-opportunity institution and moving forward to create the next generation of innovative programs and services that set a new standard of excellence in higher education.
Dwaun J. Warmack is president of Harris-Stowe State University.
In the past two years, Harris-Stowe State University has undergone a significant transformation in its identity and approach to meeting the higher education needs of St. Louis. Harris-Stowe’s historic mission has been to meet students at their current level of academic readiness and to provide opportunity and nurturing to guide them to success.
Through an ambitious academic agenda, the university now offers 31 high-impact majors and minors and is preparing to launch graduate and certificate programs in cybersecurity, healthcare administration and education. Also, expanding its global reach, the institution initiated its first study-abroad program with China’s prestigious Ningbo University in 2015. The university also has scholarly and social justice Centers of Excellence to educate the community.
At a glance, the university looks like many other college campuses. The campus is inviting, the outdoor spaces are green and expansive, and the facilities are contemporary and well-maintained. However, one key area that sets Harris-Stowe apart from its peers is a distinct pride in how the university embraces diversity as part of its overall value system.
Harris-Stowe’s mission (and the missions of HBCUs in general) is to proudly educate the underserved populations – most of whom live within a 15-mile radius of the university. Harris-Stowe is intentional about encouraging its brightest minds – innovative entrepreneurs, gifted educators and effective agents of social change – to transform our communities.
Harris-Stowe offers programs and services that help the region gain educational parity and cannot be easily replicated by other institutions. In 2014, the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) reported that only 22 percent of African Americans between the ages of 25 and 29 had obtained a four-year degree. Harris-Stowe is strategically and successfully working to improve this statistic. The vast majority of new Harris-Stowe applicants are first-generation college students.
Generally, the university’s enrollment is 80 to 85 percent African-American and from high schools in the St. Louis region. As a result, it has maintained high national rankings in the number and percentage of African Americans who graduate from its signature academic programs in mathematics and education.
However, there is still work to do. Harris-Stowe faculty and staff are investing in new strategies designed to increase retention and graduation rates. Some of these approaches originate from national models developed by Complete College America and USAFunds.
The university has also implemented internal systems that assess student successes and challenges in real time. Since the first freshmen entering now are in those models and systems, it will take four to six years of data to create a comprehensive picture of institutional outcomes. However, early data indicate that the university will see significant improvements in the retention of African-American males for the fall of 2016.
The fall 2015 first-year student enrollment increased 24.4 percent from the previous year –which is a record increase – yielding an overall 8.6 percent enrollment increase. This was the largest enrollment increase among state universities in Missouri. Two-year data (2014-15 and 2015-16) suggest that the university should anticipate a 30 percent increase in new student enrollment. Because the university expects to reach physical capacity in just 3-5 years, it is in the process of updating its master campus plan to manage the additional growth.
Keeping tuition affordable for our students remains a high priority for Harris-Stowe. Funding new initiatives can be particularly challenging for HBCUs. As most other public universities are struggling to manage operating costs, Harris-Stowe has become adept at diversifying its revenue streams. These efforts have allowed Harris-Stowe to sustain the most competitive tuition rate among Missouri four-year public institutions. The per-credit-hour rate remains steady at $199, with an annual full-time cost of attendance of just over $6,000.
Students are encouraged to take advantage of the university’s banded tuition policy that allows them to enroll in up to 16 credit hours for the price of 12, essentially getting one class free. This program not only encourages completion to graduation, but can reduce the final cost of a degree by 25 percent or more. Through this tuition-cap initiative, the university’s students realized a combined tuition savings of nearly $1 million in the 2015-2016 academic year.
Harris-Stowe students further benefit from an impressive and ever-growing portfolio of partnerships with area colleges and universities. These collaborative agreements provide direct pathways from undergraduate programs to advanced degrees in engineering, math, law, medicine and healthcare. In turn, these partnerships help attract more highly qualified applicants.
As the State of Missouri continues to pursue the 2025 Big Goal in which 60 percent of Missourians will have a postsecondary credential, Harris-Stowe’s mission is to ensure that the outcomes reflect the diversity of the region.
As with any large-scale, progressive change, Harris-Stowe has its share of challenges and detractors. Context is everything to a historically black university, and for those intent on derision, ignoring context is the easiest way to displace a narrative of success.
For example, HBCUs are often judged by their graduation rate as reported to the Integrated Postsecondary Education System (IPEDS). Harris-Stowe’s graduation rate is approximately 10 percent based on reporting six-year graduation rates for first-time, fulltime freshmen only who entered the university in 2009. However, the impact of the strategic initiatives of the current administration cannot be accurately assessed until 2020.
The majority of HSSU graduates, who are part-time and transfer students, are eliminated from the institution’s graduation rate. Conversely, factoring in non-traditional, transfer students and students who choose to attend college part-time creates a more meaningful context and could double or even triple cohort graduation statistics in a given year.
While others have sought to limit the institution’s positive trajectory through rhetoric and isolated anecdotes, the university’s campus community and wide range of supporters remain steadfast in promoting Harris-Stowe. They recognize the increasingly important role the institution plays as an economic and intellectual engine for St. Louis. The university is fulfilling its mission as a second-opportunity institution and moving forward to create the next generation of innovative programs and services that set a new standard of excellence in higher education.
Dwaun J. Warmack is president of Harris-Stowe State University.
