After a long decline in enrollment, Alabama’s historically black colleges may be in a growth period.

Alabama holds the nation’s largest number of HBCUs, with 14 public and private institutions meeting the designation. The colleges, built prior to 1964, were originally established to educate African Americans, who for centuries were blocked from attending state schools.

Experts say HBCUs are key to building strong, vibrant communities – and are economic drivers in many parts of the country. In Alabama, HBCUs have contributed more than a billion dollars to the state’s economy in recent years. In 2020, they produced about a quarter, or 3,581, of the state’s 14,667 Black graduates, federal data shows.

For decades, though, the institutions have struggled to attract and retain students. Just in the past 10 years, enrollment has declined and tuition has risen faster at HBCUs than any other school, an AL.com analysis found.

But that could be changing.

After a long decline, HBCU enrollment is on the upswing

AL.com analyzed 10 years of tuition, funding and enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics, as well as the Alabama Commission on Higher Education and publicly available data on institution websites.

Enrollment at Alabama’s HBCUs has declined rapidly over the past decade, at a rate much higher than other institutions.

While slightly more students are enrolling in Alabama’s four-year colleges, four-year HBCUs saw a 16% decrease in enrollment since 2012-2013. Public HBCUs also saw a 14% decrease, while enrollment at all public institutions increased slightly over the same time period.

Private and two-year HBCU enrollment also has been decreasing faster than that of other institutions.

But between 2020 and 2021, HBCU enrollment rose significantly while enrollment statewide stayed flat.