Howard University’s mass unenrollment of freshmen sparks backlash

Crisette Jones had just said goodbye to a family friend who stopped by to wish her well before she moves into Howard University on Aug. 7.

As she headed to her bedroom, the recent North Paulding High School graduate felt the urge to check her email one more time.

The incoming journalism major from Dallas, Georgia, was stunned by what she found.

“My heart just dropped. I was in disbelief. I thought it was a scam or an error until I went on Instagram and saw that everyone else got the email as well,” said Jones, who was to be the first person in her family to go to college. “A couple of hours later, I just broke down crying.”

Jones was among 502 incoming freshmen who received emails on Wednesday from Howard’s Office of Enrollment Management and Student Success informing them that they had been unenrolled just days before move-in.

The students were told that because they failed to make a tuition payment or payment arrangement by the July 10 deadline to secure their enrollment, they would no longer be part of the incoming class and could instead apply to Howard as transfer students.

Jones said she was never told that failing to pay by July 10 would mean losing her place in Howard’s incoming freshman class.

But in a statement sent to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Howard’s Office of University Communications said that since March, multiple detailed communications have gone out to first-year students reminding them of the “steps needed to secure enrollment for the fall 2026 semester.”

Howard, one of about 100 historically Black colleges and universities in the United States, enrolled about 11,000 undergraduate students last fall.

Annual tuition for undergraduates living on campus averages about $38,000, while housing costs are about $13,600.

For many students, however, the emails came as a shock.

Isabella Williams, an incoming freshman from Fort Mitchell, Alabama, said confusion set in immediately. Williams, whose mother dropped out of Howard University because of financial reasons, was scheduled to move in July 25 so she could begin an internship with Howard’s football media team.

“I did not have to submit an enrollment plan because the rest of my balance was to be covered by my external scholarships,” Williams said. “So seeing that, I was very confused.”

She was one of the lucky ones. The 18-year-old political science major was eventually able to get her classes reinstated. She still owes the school $12,000.

For Saniah Collins, the news also came without warning.

The 17-year-old from Atlanta said she first learned something was wrong through a parent group chat before receiving her own email.

“I worked like crazy to get into this school,” Collins said. “Howard has been my everything. My whole senior year, my whole summer, I worked consistently on scholarships. We tried to make ourselves 10 steps ahead to make sure we were on the right page.”

Dwayne Irvin, a 19-year-old from Kansas City, Missouri, said he had dreamed of attending Howard since seventh grade.

“I chose Howard because I want to be around individuals that I look like. I pick the collective over affordability. I chose Howard because they have produced brilliant leaders over the past couple of decades,” he said.

Since receiving Howard’s email, Irvin is keeping his options open.

He has reached out to Hampton University and North Carolina A&T State University, where he had also been accepted.

The university’s actions have sparked widespread criticism and commentary online.

Incoming freshmen, current students, alumni, supporters and higher education experts have shared their frustration across social media, while a petition started by incoming freshman Fatima Ahmed urging Howard University to reinstate the affected students gathered more than 5,000 signatures.

Jamal Bryant, senior pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Stonecrest, also voiced his support on Threads.

“My heart and prayers going out to the 500 students displaced by Howard University … trying to see what HBCUs can help take them. We can’t let the spirits of these young scholars be broken,” Bryant said on Threads.

Marybeth Gasman, a higher education expert at Rutgers University, told The Associated Press that the mass removal of students from Howard’s fall enrollment undermines the reputation HBCUs have built as supportive, nurturing institutions for Black students.

“If it were me and it was over 500 students, I wouldn’t have done it in one day,” Gasman said. “I would have also done the due diligence of going through each one. Now, they are going to have to go back and do that.”

Meanwhile, Jones remains in limbo.