Dive Brief:

• North Carolina legislators killed a spending bill provision for a study that could have shut down Elizabeth City State University, a historically black school.
• The provision would have required the University of North Carolina Board of Governors to study closing state universities with enrollment declines of at least 20% from 2010 to 2013.
• Black lawmakers protested, pointing out that Elizabeth was the only UNC school that would have fit the criteria, and that if the law passed, it would make students less likely to enroll, Inside Higher Ed reported.

Dive Insight:

The university’s enrollment dropped from 3,307 in the 2010-11 academic year to 2,421 in 2013-14, according to The Charlotte Post. Last year, supporters of historically black colleges and universities were upset by Gov. Pat McCrory’s suggestions to merge or close campuses because they feared that black schools would be targeted.