Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are answering the demand of today's hi-tech business environment with increased numbers of computer science and engineering bachelor's degree graduates.

"HBCUs have stepped up to the plate and are delivering graduates who can fill the job openings in today’s hi-tech and .com world," said Dr. Norman Francis, President of Xavier University and a member of the Nissan-ETS HBCU Steering Committee. "Recently released numbers from the U.S. Department of Education show HBCUs have consistently increased the number of bachelor' s degrees awarded in the fields of computer science and engineering from 1993-1997.  This is at a time when traditional universities are seeing a decrease in graduates from these same fields."

Statistics from the U.S Department of Education show a 9.9% increase in Computer Science degrees from 1,045 in 1993, to 1,148 in 1997; and a 27% increase in Engineering degrees from 1,417 to 1,800 respectively. A report released last year by the American Electronics Association showed a five-percent drop in the number of hi-tech graduates from traditional universities between 1990 and 1996 and the preliminary findings of the 1997 and 1998 figures indicated an ongoing decline.    

The Nissan-ETS HBCU Seminar Institute, sponsored by Nissan North America, Inc. and the Educational Testing Service, is a faculty enhancement program. It provides the business faculty and senior administrators at HBCUs, which are traditionally under-funded, with rite opportunity to participate in the kind of professional development seminars that are often the norm at minority institutions. Its additional purpose is to expose the program participants to cutting-edge theories and pedagogy in particular business fields that will enhance their knowledge base, teaching skills and curriculum development competencies, and make their students better prepared and motivated to pursue advanced degrees and enter the world of work.

"Today's historically black colleges provide many African Americans with a vital gateway to opportunity," said Debra Sanchez-Fair, Nissan North America, Inc. "The Nissan-HBCU Summer Institute enables professors at HBCUs to stay competitive and at the forefront of modern education. Our commitment to the Institute stems from our corporate philosophy of supporting programs that help to empower individual organizations to achieve their goals and dreams.”

An additional study showed that though awareness of HBCUs among the general public is relatively high, it is clear that this widely held basic awareness does not indicate a high degree of knowledge about particular attributes of these colleges and universities. 

“HBCUs have a proud heritage of keeping a higher number of its students enrolled for their entire secondary education through graduation with a bachelor’s degree in many fields, not just hi-tech,” said Dr. Francis.  "We hope that with increased awareness of our hi-tech degrees offerings, students who traditionally would not have considered attending an HBCU, will now include us in their higher-education decisions.”

Since its inception in 1989, more that 345 "Nissan Fellows" have attended the Institute. They, in turn, have touched the lives of thousands of their colleagues and students. Through these efforts, a solution-oriented consortium of educational institutions and organizations has emerged that is committed to furthering the development of a well-educated and trained minority workforce that will be responsible for fostering economic strength and cultural diversity in our society.

"HBCUs need to know what business expect of our delivery system,” said Dr. James Hefner, Tennessee State University president. “We need to know their workforce requirements so we are not producing graduates for a world that doesn’t exist.  Business is a consumer of educational services, needs to understand our goals and objectives, as well as the needs of our faculty and students.  Our many alliances keep us educationally up-to-date to the needs of the business world.”