By Melanie R. Holmes
AFRO Staff Writer
MSU, a historically Black university, faults the Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC) for unlawful program duplication at UMUC, a traditionally White institution (TWI). (Courtesy Photo)
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(November 5, 2009) - When it came to the University of Maryland University College (UMUC) requesting a doctoral program in Community College Administration, Morgan State University (MSU) officials feel the “responsible” answer should have been simple: No.
But “politics prevailed,” they say.
MSU, a historically Black university, faults the Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC) for unlawful program duplication at UMUC, a traditionally White institution (TWI). They believe more funding should have been allocated for the preexisting program at Morgan, but instead, MHEC approved the UMUC program.
In a written response, the MSU Office of Public Relations said not only does their university lose, but so do all state HBCUs and residents.
“Morgan and other historically black institutions are far more segregated now than they were forty years ago,” the statement said. “In 1972, 43 percent of graduate enrollment at historically Black institutions was White, and a year later that percentage had increased to 53 percent. In 2006, it was 14 percent.”
UMUC was recently approved for a doctoral program similar to one MSU established in 1999. However, this problem is nothing new to them. MSU officials say the effect of program duplication began with the decline in White enrollment years ago. Between 1969 and 1974, 234 students enrolled in a MBA program, 54 of which were White. As of 2006, no White students enrolled, which Morgan attributes to program duplication.
“These dramatic declines in both the number and diversity of the enrollment undermine the viability and vitality of a very important sector of our public higher education system,” the statement said. “Likewise, the potential richness of Maryland’s multiracial and multicultural population is significantly diminished.”
In addition to Black universities suffering from MHEC’s decision, according to Morgan officials, so are Maryland taxpayers. State residents are prohibited from the UMUC program in order to maintain enrollment at Morgan, but they are still paying for the program through taxes.
“Maryland taxpayers lose anytime an academic program is unnecessarily duplicated between two publicly-supported institutions,” the statement said. “The loss is only made worse when the taxpayer dollars go to fund the duplicated program and the taxpayer is excluded from participation in it.”
In the end, MSU said the ultimate issue is bigger than protecting HBCUs from TWIs overstepping their legal boundaries. “Morgan and other historically black institutions are far more segregated now than they were forty years ago.
“It is instead a proxy for the greater effort to dismantle the dual system of higher education and to establish in its place a system of public colleges and universities which are comparable in their competitiveness to attract students regardless of race,” the statement said.