Two San Diego colleges among first to be named Black-Serving Institutions

A pair of San Diego community colleges has joined a big, ambitious effort to boost the comparatively small and declining number of Black students who enter and graduate from California’s vast network of colleges and universities.

City College and Mesa College are among 31 schools statewide that were recently designated as Black-Serving Institutions, or BSI, under a new law that highlights campuses that excel at helping these students.

The law took effect on Jan. 1 and created a governing board mostly composed of representatives of the University of California, California State University and California community colleges, as well as private, non-profit schools.

The board named its initial 31 BSIs in early December, making California the first state to have this designation. At the moment, the program doesn’t come with state or federal money. But schools are hoping that will change so they can come to resemble the national Hispanic-Serving Institutions program.

City College in downtown San Diego drew attention for creating a barber shop that offers free cuts for students who have enrolled in at least one class and filed for financial aid. The program is primarily meant to appeal to Black and Latino men. And it’s meant to serve as the sort of Read Entire Article