Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCU's) are institutions that were established prior to 1964 with the principal mission of educating black Americans. These institutions were founded and developed in an environment of legal segregation and, by providing access to higher education, they contributed substantially to the progress black Americans made in improving their status. Presently there are 101 accredited HBCU's that enroll almost 300,000 students, approximately 80% of whom are African American and 70% are from low-in-come families. The average cost of an HBCU is 27% less than a comparable predominately white institutions (PWI).