According to the U.S. Department of Education, there are 103 historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the United States. Although this sector of higher education represents just 3 percent of all U.S. institutions of higher education, the National Center for Education Statistics reports that HBCUs grant approximately 25 percent of the baccalaureate degrees awarded to African Americans. Educator Jacqueline Fleming's 1984 book, "Blacks in College," and subsequent research show that students who attend HBCUs graduate at higher rates and report greater satisfaction with their college experience compared with African American students who attend predominantly white institutions. Similarly, an article in a 2001 issue of the "Peabody Journal of Education" reported that approximately three-fourths of all black PhDs earn their bachelor's degrees at HBCUs. This institutional sector is thus a critically important pathway to higher education for many African Americans and contributes significantly to the social and economic balance of the country. (Contains 3 tables.)