EDUCAUSE Top 10 for 2024: Securing the Future for Small Private Colleges, HBCUs, and MSIs

Introduction 

While EDUCAUSE's 2024 Top 10 issues broadly address the higher education landscape, several challenges are particularly pressing for small private colleges, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), and Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs). Often under-resourced, these institutions play critical roles in supporting underrepresented communities, offering personalized, community-focused education, and contributing to educational diversity. For stakeholders committed to a balanced educational future, the following issues demand special attention and action. 

Cybersecurity as a Core Competency 

• Why It Matters: Protecting student and institutional data is paramount, but financial limitations often hinder small colleges, HBCUs, and MSIs from developing strong cybersecurity defenses. 

• Key Action: Prioritize targeted funding and grants specifically for cybersecurity infrastructure at these institutions. Creating regional consortia can also enable resource-sharing, helping them bolster cybersecurity measures cost-effectively. 

• Why It Matters: Effective data governance enables institutions to make informed decisions critical for enrollment, resource allocation, and student success—especially important for those serving first-generation and minority students. 

Driving to Better Decisions: Data Quality and Governance 

• Key Action: Provide accessible funding to support data infrastructure in HBCUs and MSIs. This will level the playing field, allowing them to harness accurate data for strategic decisions and improved student outcomes. 

The Enrollment Crisis and the Enrollment Cliff 

• Why It Matters: Smaller institutions lack the financial buffers of larger universities and are particularly vulnerable to declining enrollment trends. For many MSIs and HBCUs, this could determine their long-term viability. 

• Key Action: Offer urgent support through grants and partnerships focused on modernizing recruitment strategies. Investing in tools and technologies for targeted recruitment can help these institutions attract new student demographics and mitigate the impact of the enrollment cliff. 

Diving Deep into Data: Leveraging Analytics for Student Success 

• Why It Matters: Analytics are invaluable for identifying student needs and improving retention and graduation rates, which is crucial for institutions serving underrepresented populations. 

• Key Action: Develop national and regional data-sharing networks to provide smaller colleges and MSIs access to essential analytics tools without significant financial burdens, thus supporting student success affordably. 

Administrative Cost Reduction: Streamlining Processes, Data, and Technologies 

• Why It Matters: Lean budgets necessitate streamlined administration, but small colleges, HBCUs, and MSIs lack the economies of scale that benefit larger institutions. 

• Key Action: Form shared-service consortia to combine purchasing power and share administrative resources, reducing costs without sacrificing service quality. Increased funding and structured support for shared administrative technologies would strengthen this approach. 

Hiring Resilience: Recruiting and Retaining IT Talent 

• Why It Matters: Skilled IT talent is essential for maintaining systems and driving innovation, yet small colleges, HBCUs, and MSIs struggle to offer competitive salaries. 

• Key Action: Establish regional talent-sharing partnerships to alleviate financial pressure by allowing institutions to share IT expertise flexibly. Financial support for these collaborative hiring models is crucial for sustainability. 

Financial Keys to the Future: Using Technology and Data for Tough Choices 

• Why It Matters: Advanced financial modeling tools help institutions manage limited budgets strategically, which is essential for small institutions. 

• Key Action: Provide affordable, consortium-supported financial tools specifically designed for HBCUs and MSIs to support their financial planning needs and foster long-term stability in a budget-constrained environment. 

Adapting to the Future: Cultivating Institutional Agility 

• Why It Matters: Agility allows small colleges to adapt quickly to evolving needs, but without sufficient resources, agility is often short-term and reactive. 

• Key Action: Offer targeted grants for infrastructure that supports long-term agility and adaptability. This empowerment will enable these institutions to respond proactively to market shifts, ensuring they remain viable, competitive, and resilient. 

Financial Keys to the Future: Using Technology and Data for Tough Choices 

• Why It Matters: Advanced financial modeling tools help institutions manage limited budgets strategically, which is essential for small institutions. 

• Key Action: Provide affordable, consortium-supported financial tools specifically designed for HBCUs and MSIs to support their financial planning needs and foster long-term stability in a budget-constrained environment. 

Adapting to the Future: Cultivating Institutional Agility 

• Why It Matters: Agility allows small colleges to adapt quickly to evolving needs, but without sufficient resources, agility is often short-term and reactive. 

• Key Action: Offer targeted grants for infrastructure that supports long-term agility and adaptability. This empowerment will enable these institutions to respond proactively. 

Final Thoughts: A Call for Equitable Support 

The challenges highlighted—cybersecurity, data governance, enrollment, and operational costs—significantly impact institutions with smaller student bodies and limited financial resources. Recognizing the essential role of HBCUs, MSIs, and small colleges in creating a diverse and accessible higher education system is critical. Without equitable, targeted support, the higher education landscape risks becoming dominated by the largest institutions, diminishing diversity, community-focused learning, and student choice. 

Supporting a balanced educational future requires the commitment of all stakeholders to advocate for and invest in these essential institutions.