When Courtney Jones graduated from college in 2000, not obtaining success was not an option.
A graduate of Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), Jones said her professors and mentors instilled in her the importance of success. They also instilled in her the importance of self-defining success.
“The program I was in really set the bar for success early on,” she said. “Success was not just, ‘make this amount of money and obtain this title.’ They would provide the resources for success, but you had to decide what success was for you.”
For some of her peers, attending college was success to them. Overtime, the definition of success would adjust. Graduating was a mark of success for some. For others, getting a job was their definition of success; buying a home, etc. They were presented with a different definition of success.
According to a new study that looks at the experiences of black college graduates from the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s, graduates of HBCUs during that time shared Jones’ sentiments. The study, titled “The Relative Returns to Graduating from a Historically Black College/University” found that graduates of HBCUs felt they had achieved greater success than black graduates of mainstream or predominantly white institutions.
There was a belief that the advantage of HBCUs for blacks had disappeared; however, Gregory Price, one of the authors of the more recent report, said much of this myth is due to a 2007 report authored by Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology professors.
According to the 2007 report, by the 1990s that disadvantage had disappeared. However, Price, the Charles E. Merrill professor and chair of the Department of Economics at Morehouse College, said their report, unlike the 2007 one, utilizes what he calls a full probability sample of black America. That is important because typical surveys do not always do that.
“What we did is we looked at an alternative sample. Keep in mind, the typical study only looks at one narrow outcome, market earnings,” he said. “Market earnings are a short value of success.”
They also looked at psychological outcomes like self-esteem, the sense of black identity, etc. In addition, Price’s study (also co-authored by William Spriggs and Omari H. Swinton of Howard University) engaged a broader definition of the success. They found that some were happier working in jobs that provided personal as well as professional fulfillment.
“Self-esteem and identity are important as well as other skills,” Price said. “If you are going to be a competent individual you must have good self esteem, which is part of what a college is trying to develop and promote – a certain identity.”
Is the same true for black graduates in 2012? Price believes we should not be so quick to make an exact correlation. He said it really depends on the data.
“That type of data can be hard to get. No one can make any conclusion about whether or not that still holds,” he said, adding you could possibly get at the same conclusion, “But it takes awhile to update the existing database. No one can produce a guess right now.”
However, it may be safe to say success is relative and individualistic. Jones’ experience at FAMU is a good example. She said she never felt success meant being a vice president by the age of 30 and making six figures.
Steven Martin’s experience is also a good example. A 2011 graduate of Belmont University, Martin also considers himself to be successful. An accounting major, he chose to attend Belmont because of their 100 percent job placement rate.
“By attending this school I would end up with a job by the time I graduated. By my sophomore year I landed a prestigious internship that led to a job offer by the time of my graduation,” he said. He deferred that offer for a year to get his Masters in Accounting from Belmont, which he will complete by the end of 2012. “By being a student here at Belmont, I had an edge.”
And in the process, he realized that he is not as passionate about accounting as he once thought he was. He is now more interested in helping others. An employee in Belmont’s Office of Admissions, he has realized that he has always had a secret passion for people.
“I like to help other people to find their passions. One of my ways of doing that is sort of a paying it forward type of experience,” he said, “Working for Belmont to help others reach their personal success is part of my mission now.”
He admits he is still figuring out his long-term goals, but he is clear he is heading down the path of a career in higher education, he said. “Who knows, 25 years from now I may be working as a Vice President or Chief of Staff.”
Jones will always sing her praises of HBCUs.
“I chose to go to an HBCU and it was an amazing experience,” she said. “Your education is what you make of it. I am pretty confident in HBCUs. I wear it proudly.”
At the end of the day, Price believes their study is an important one. It makes HBCUs more reliable in the eyes and hearts of parents, tax payers and even philanthropists
“Our society invests a large amount of resources to educate – both black and white. People want to know if they are getting a better return on their investment sending their students to schools like Albany, West Georgia, or to an HBCU,” he said. “Should they give their money to Spelman or Emory? Which is the bigger return on your dollar? That is why this study is important. What is the best use of our resources?”
Follow Mashaun D. Simon on Twitter at @memadosi