What Does the Election of Barack Obama Mean for African-American Higher Education?

Over the past eight years the GOP has sought to eliminate race-based affirmative action, curtail scholarships earmarked for blacks, and failed to significantly increase funding for Pell Grants for low-income students. President Bush has appointed scores of federal judges to lifetime appointments, individuals who are strong opponents of better chances for African Americans.

Now a black man has been elected president of the United States. Here is a brief summary of how Barack Obama’s election is likely to affect African-American higher education.

President-elect Obama has a monumental task ahead of him. He must work to unite the nation, strengthen the economy, fight terrorism, end the war in Iraq, and make tough decisions on healthcare reform, social security, energy development, and a host of other important issues.

But what will the election of Barack Obama mean for African-American higher education?

Over the past eight years, the Bush administration has aimed to pressure colleges and universities to end race-sensitive admissions programs as well as scholarships earmarked for black and other minority students. Obama is in a position to end this intimidation on his first day in office by ordering the Justice Department and the Education Department to back off on legal and administrative challenges to these programs at colleges and universities. Obama is likely to staff the civil rights division of these two federal departments with officials who are strong supporters of increasing diversity at our nation’s colleges and universities.

It is unclear whether the Supreme Court will soon revisit the issue of affirmative action in higher education. The Court’s most likely vacancies are seats currently held by justices who support affirmative action. Undoubtedly, Obama will appoint  replacements who will maintain the current balance on the Court. At the same time, Obama is likely to appoint federal district and appeals court judges who will look favorably on affirmative action and race-based scholarship programs that are important to African-American college students.

The mainstay of the Obama plan for higher education is a $4,000 tax credit for all college students. That credit — not a deduction — will cover two thirds of the average cost of tuition at a four-year public college or university. The tax credit would effectively make community college virtually cost-free for students. Under the Obama plan, the tax credit will make funds available for families to pay tuition upfront, not simply reimburse them for tuition expenses when they get their tax refund many months or even a year later.

Low-income students are likely to have better funded Pell Grants and other financial aid programs to help them meet the costs of attending college. In fact, Obama plans to in-crease the maximum Pell Grant award to keep pace with inflation and to meet the rising cost of higher education. In past years, the GOP has opposed and essentially blocked any significant increase in Pell Grants for low-income students.

Obama plans to eliminate the complicated application process that students must go through in order to qualify for financial aid. The current Free Application for Federal Financial Aid is five pages long and has over 125 questions. Research has shown that many black and other minority students don’t apply for financial aid because of the difficulty in navigating the process required to obtain aid. In 2004 about 1.5 million students did not apply for a federal Pell Grant even though they were eligible for it.

Obama has proposed a $25 million annual fund to help states develop early assessment programs. These programs are geared toward low-income and minority students so that they can determine if their high school course track is placing them on a path that will qualify them for admission to college.

Obama has also proposed the creation of a community college partnership program. Funds will be made available for programs that will help community college students transfer to four-year colleges after completing their two-year associate’s degrees. Other programs will facilitate the path for community college students to make a smooth transition to the work force.

It is likely that President Obama will continue the nation’s longstanding financial commitment to the nation’s historically black colleges and universities. In recent years, politicians of both major parties have backed increased funding for these institutions.

Many of President-elect Obama’s objectives will not sail through the Democratic-led Congress. Unfortunately, Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell has squeaked through in his reelection bid. He is a hard-core, determined opponent of better opportunities for racial minorities and is likely to lead a filibuster against many of the initiatives proposed by the nation’s new president.