Howard University President Dr. Wayne Frederick wants the White House to take its free community college proposal a step further and include historically black colleges and universities. Howard senior Kevin Peterman, who is the first in his family to go to college, wants to see others get the same benefits of higher education.
“It wasn’t supposed to happen, if you really look at the finances of my family and what we had to offer,” Peterman said. Frederick believes President Barack Obama's plan to lower the cost of two years of community college to zero should include historically black colleges and universities.
"The students who come to Howard represent those from the lower socio-economic status in our undergrad population," he said. At Howard, graduation rates increase by 10 percent among students who receive full rides, Frederick said.
"If we don't have the historically black colleges and universities as places these students can be taken in, we certainly will be educating less people of color," he said. Obama's plan would cost the federal government and states $60 billion over 10 years. Adding tuition to attend the country's 100 HBCUs would send that number skyrocketing.
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