MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
There's a new crop of college freshman on campus, the first to have gone through the admissions process since the Supreme Court ruled it's unconstitutional to consider race in admissions decisions. Some universities report a decline in diversity. Meanwhile, some historically Black colleges and universities are seeing a boost in enrollment. Leoneda Inge of member station WUNC reports.
LEONEDA INGE, BYLINE: Move-in day at North Carolina Central University was busier than it's been in years.
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INGE: Students push large bucket crates on wheels, carrying everything from clothes and food to flat-screen televisions. Paige Smith (ph) is a freshman from Charlotte. She brought along her favorite stuffed animal.
You're not scared to leave home?
PAIGE SMITH: I was at first. And then I got excited because, like, it's just new, like, people. I get to branch out a little bit more, try new things. So I'm excited.
INGE: There are a lot of new people on North Carolina Central's campus. The Durham-based HBCU grew by nearly 8% over last year. It's the largest percentage growth at any of North Carolina's state schools. That includes the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which was at the center of last year's U.S. Supreme Court case banning race in admissions consideration at state and private institutions. Smith says she purposefully only applied to historically Black universities.
SMITH: I've just been wanting to go to an HBCU since, like, seventh, eighth grade because since kindergarten to 12th grade, I went to the same predominantly white school. So I'm like, I need to branch out. I need to, like, find more of my people. You know what I mean?
INGE: It's a sentiment heard over and over. Michael Bailey is in charge of undergraduate admissions at North Carolina Central. He says the Supreme Court ruling should not get the credit for their increase.
MICHAEL BAILEY: Our enrollment growth has more of a direct tie to some very intentional, data-driven decisions, more resources and just being smart and operating in a more smarter environment to demand our market share.
INGE: The fight for the market share of students of color is real. Black institutions across the country are all reporting banner enrollment. Meanwhile, freshman enrollment at UNC Chapel Hill is down slightly, and reports show the class of 2028 is also less diverse. There are fewer Hispanic and American Indian students and nearly 3% fewer Black students than last year. Recently, the UNC board of trustees got an update on class enrollment from Vice Provost Rachelle Feldman. She blames the dip partially on the botched rollout of the Federal Student Aid form, or FAFSA.
RACHELLE FELDMAN: We had so many issues with the FAFSA this year. We don't know what effect that had on our entering class, but we had to change the way we were reading. We fully complied with the law, but we still want people from a variety of backgrounds.
INGE: And Feldman made sure to add that one year of lower minority student enrollment is not a pattern.
For NPR News, I'm Leoneda Inge in Durham, N.C.
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