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Key Takeaways
- In an application for a California Black-Serving Institution designation, Sacramento State University lists a series of goals to enhance 'Black student success.'
- The goals include increasing 'overall Black student enrollment to 5,000 by 2030.'
- When asked, the university told The Fix that its programs 'fully' comply with state and federal non-discrimination laws.
Sacramento State University recently outlined a series of goals for “Black and/or African American student success” through 2030, including auditing syllabi, integrating microaggression trainings, and increasing black student enrollment, according to a 15-page document on its Black Honors College website.
The “Black Serving Institution Application,” published in June, is focused on “inclusion” and “equity” initiatives, with the latter word being mentioned 29 times throughout the document.
While the Black Honors College website states, “All university programs and activities are open and available to all regardless of race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin,” one of the goals listed in the report is to enroll “1,000 Black Honors College (BHC) scholars and increase overall Black student enrollment to 5,000 by 2030.”
The application is to achieve a California Black-Serving Institution designation, which recognizes higher education institutions that “excel at providing academic resources to Black and African American students,” according to the California State University website.
To qualify, an institution must show that at least 10 percent of its student population is black and submit an application outlining its efforts to serve these students.
However, a conservative advocate for racial unity raised concerns about the unintended effects when asked about Sacramento State’s goals for black students.
“Separation of races early leads to self-separation later in life; establishing racially biased tracking patterns and goading resources into communities solely by race sets the wrong precedent for harmony and achievement,” Kenny Xu, former president of Color Us United and author of the book “School of Woke,” told The College Fix in a recent email.
Meanwhile, the university defended its goals when contacted by The Fix.
“We are excited to apply for the official Black-Serving Institution (BSI) designation,” spokesperson Lanaya Lewis said in an email Thursday, noting the university already is a federally-recognized Hispanic-Serving Institution and Asian American Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution.
Under one section of the application, the university lists a priority admissions agreement with the California Association of African American Superintendents and Administrators.
Another major point in the application is the implementation of race-specific resources to ensure student success. One such example is the Black Student Success Dashboard to track their “progress on enrollment, retention, graduation, and time to degree.”
The California Constitution forbids the giving of preferential treatment to any individual or group on the basis of race in public education.
When asked about this and other race-based goals listed in the application, Lewis said Sacramento State “fully complies” with state and federal non-discrimination and civil rights laws.
“These collaborations do not exclude or prevent any organizations, schools, or individuals who do not identify as African American or Black from partnering with the university. These partnerships also do not grant priority admission to students based on any protected classification,” Lewis said Thursday in an email to The Fix.
“We prohibit discriminatory preferential treatment, segregation based on race or any other protected status, and all forms of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation in all university programs, policies, and practices,” Lewis said.
In the university’s application, faculty training is another point of emphasis for “Black and/or African American student success.” Some of the stated goals include integrating “anti-microaggression” training into its new faculty orientation as well as trainings for professors to incorporate students’ cultural backgrounds into the curriculum.
Moreover, the application mentions the creation of a Black Honors College Curriculum Review Committee starting this fall to audit syllabi for “inclusivity and cultural relevance annually.”
The university did not answer The Fix’s questions about the audit, including whether committee is reviewing all syllabi, or just those in the Black Honors College.
The document also mentions leveraging U.S. Department of Education funding to support “equity” efforts for the purpose of fostering “faculty-student collaboration and shared inquiry on black student experience.”
The race-based goals listed in Sacramento State’s application come at a time when the Trump administration has made combating discriminatory higher education programs a priority.
In September, the Department of Education ended discretionary funding to Minority Serving Institution grant programs, saying they “discriminate by conferring government benefits exclusively to institutions that meet racial or ethnic quotas.”
President Donald Trump also called for an end to diversity, equity, and inclusion practices in higher education, including racial discrimination, in a January executive order.
Sacramento State, which is a public university, launched its Black Honors College last year.
At the time, The Fix reported about a $250,000 grant that the university received for its Black Honors College from the California State University System.
The Honors College was launched with the purpose of “providing a rigorous, specialized educational experience for students interested in Black history, life, culture, and contributions.”
MORE: ‘Honors College’ for black students receives $250K from Cal State system
