According to HBCUBuzz.com, Florida A&M and the University of Phoenix are partnering to offer online courses for minority students.

“A new research project by Florida A&M University Developmental Research School (FAMU DRS), the Thurgood Marshall Foundation and the University of Phoenix will provide support for the creation of online courses to better-serve minority students.”

HBCUs have tried to offer online courses or full degrees in the past but with little success. This project will tailor its offerings specifically towards African-american, bilingual, and poor students.

“The online curriculum will improve and complement classroom teaching and will focus on math, which state exam results show is the subject FAMU DRS students struggle with the most. The online courses will be accessible through the University of Phoenix’s online platform in the form of learning resources and other materials, workshops and tutoring opportunities.”

So far, FAMU (Florida A&M University) is the first HBCU to utilize the online offerings that the University of Phoenix offers. Educationnews.org reports that Phoenix “made its online platform available to historically black colleges and universities” last year.

The end goal for all involved in the project is to increase the number of minority students, specifically African-American students, who are successful in taking classes online. Moving beyond that, FAMU likely wants to offer an assortment of degrees online for its students to take.

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