Differences in student engagement between women and men at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are examined in this study. Data were collected from 1,167 African American undergraduate students at 12 four-year HBCUs that participated in the National Survey of Student Engagement. Controlling for several factors that might obscure gender differences, the results counter previous research regarding gender gaps on HBCU campuses by illustrating that African American women enjoy an equally engaging experience as their same-race male counterparts.

Although scholars have examined historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in terms of their educational effectiveness for African American students compared to predominantly white institutions (PWIs), there is a lack of similar research on Hispanic students at Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs) and PWIs. This study uses data from the 2003 administration of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) to investigate whether HSIs appear to serve Hispanic students in similar ways that HBCUs serve African American students. The results suggest that the average Hispanic senior at an HSI looks quite similar to the average Hispanic senior at a PWI in terms of engagement, satisfaction with college, and gains in overall development, in contrast to the results for African American seniors who are more engaged at HBCUs than PWIs.

The authors examine the promises and prospects of using student engagement data to promote success at minority‐serving institutions.

Concurrent validation procedures were employed, using a sample of African American precollege students, to determine the extent to which scale scores obtained from the first edition of the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI) were appropriate for diagnostic purposes. Data analysis revealed that 2 of the 10 LASSI scales (i.e., Anxiety and Test Strategies) significantly correlated with a measure of academic ability. These results suggested that scores obtained from these LASSI scales may provide valid assessments of African American precollege students’ academic aptitude. Implications for teachers, school counselors, and developmental studies professionals were discussed.

Although there is empirical evidence concerning the value of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), broader narratives about these institutions too often overemphasize challenges and depict them from a deficit perspective. We argue that such depictions elide the benefits of HBCUs within the higher education landscape and are rooted in a form of institutional anti-blackness—persistent imagery and discourse that construct Black colleges and universities as institutions devoid of value. In response to such silencing, this study employs counter-narratives rooted in a critical race methodology to illuminate the modern contributions of HBCUs as told by their chief executive officers—HBCU presidents. These contributions include transforming today’s learners into tomorrow’s leaders, a commitment to serving low-income students that is unencumbered by their financial strains, and tapping the potential of students who were marginalized in prior academic environments.