The Historical Black College and University Tour (HBCU) made its way to the Bakersfield College campus on Feb. 4.  

Initially the event was going to be held outside on the lawn near the counseling building, however, with the prediction of rain, a last-minute decision was made to relocate the event to a classroom inside the Humanities Building.  

What started out with a bit of confusion ended up being a successful meeting with plenty of important information provided.

The HBCU was created in the early 1800s for African Americans during a time they were not permitted to attend mainstream colleges. 

Fast forward to the 21st Century, HBCU’s are still around but their mission has somewhat evolved.  The goal of providing a place of higher learning for African Americans remains a top priority. However, enrollment in an HBCU is no longer limited to African Americans.

A focus to increase enrollment into a degree or certificate program in all colleges (especially the programs that are under-represented by minorities such as the medical field) has now been included as a priority, according to Dr. Theresa Price, the founder and Executive Director of The National College Resources Foundation, who was also in attendance. 

She also explained that many schools that are not an HBCU are in a collaborative agreement to automatically accept minorities into such under-represented programs.

This year the HBCU tour brought representatives from about 25 different colleges and universities, including UC Davis, UC Santa Barbara, and UC Berkley. 

The BC students in attendance heard about many benefits offered by each school such as waiving the enrollment fee, on-the-spot acceptance into certain programs, and additional funding above the PELL Grant.  

Some of the schools were willing to work with students that desired enrollment but didn’t have enough units to transfer yet.

According to Price, there have been over $2 million dollars in scholarships offered to students at BC over the last  3 years.