2009 Performance Accountability Report Vol. 2 - Maryland Higher ...

MORGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
MISSION
Morgan State University is, by legislative statue, Maryland’s public urban university. It gives
priority to addressing the needs of the population in urban areas, in general, and of Baltimore
City in particular, through its academic, research, and service programs. The University is
committed to educating a culturally diverse and multi-racial population with a particular
obligation to increasing the educational attainment of African Americans in fields and at degree
levels in which they are under-represented.
Access
INSTITUTIONAL ASSESSMENT
The University always has welcomed enrollment of students of all races and is placing increased
priority on attracting a greater number of “other race” students, but because of its geographic
location and historic circumstances its primary constituency is the African-American population.
To a growing degree this historic mission is of increasing importance to the State. Currently,
one-third of the State’s college age population is African-American. During this decade, the
number of African-American high school graduates will increase by nearly 20 percent. A large
majority of them will mirror the University’s applicant pool with similar educational profiles,
comparable socio-economic status and family educational history. Applications for attendance
to Morgan have more than doubled over the past decade. The increasing attractiveness of the
University is primarily attributable to the number of programmatic and capital enhancements that
have taken place in recent years.
While the cost to attend continues to increase, the University’s cost position, relative to
Maryland’s four-year public institutions, remains competitive within the State. When compared
to competing institutions, out-of-state enrollment has remained relatively constant due to very
high out-of-state tuition rates. Despite this, Morgan continues to provide higher education access
to a segment of the population which faces financial constraints and challenges. The average
percentage of undergraduates receiving Pell Grants for the 2006-2009 period is 48 percent.
Morgan also continues to provide higher education access to promising students who otherwise
may not be able to attend a traditional four year university. During the 2006-2009 period about
35% of the entering freshmen class scored below the national average for African Americans
taking the SAT. Additionally, Maryland community college transfer students have comprised
3% of the total undergraduate student body.
The results for Morgan State University’s diversity indicators are mixed. While the percentage
of “other race” enrollment has remained stable at about 10% during the 2006-2009 period, the
percentage of white students enrolled has increased slightly from 2.5% to 2.9%, and the
percentage of Hispanic students increased from .7% to 1.1% during this same period. Morgan
continues to have a much more diverse student body at the graduate level than at the
undergraduate level. As a historically black institution, it continues to be the institution of
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