More Than 500,000 Students Have Used Mason’s Common Black College Application To Apply To HBCUs Since 1998
Robert Mason created a college admissions tool that has helped more than 500,000 students apply to historically Black colleges and universities since 1998.
Robert Mason, the higher education advocate who founded the Common Black College Application and helped hundreds of thousands of students pursue an HBCU education, has died. He was 66.
His brother, Todd Mason, confirmed his death to HuffPost. A cause of death has not been released.
Mason spent decades working to make historically Black colleges and universities more accessible to students, particularly those who might otherwise be discouraged by application costs or unfamiliarity with the college admissions process.
Robert Mason Opened HBCU Doors to Thousands of Students
Mason founded the Common Black College Application in 1998. The platform allows prospective students to submit one application to more than 60 participating HBCUs, including Morehouse College, Claflin University and Tennessee State University, for a single fee.
In its first year, just 80 students used the application. More than 500,000 students have used the service since then, according to the CBCA.
“He believed that every Black student deserved the opportunity to pursue higher education without financial barriers,” Mason’s CBCA team said in a statement.
The organization said Mason also worked to connect students with scholarships through the Common Scholarship Application.
“His passion for educational equity became the foundation of our mission and left a lasting impact on our team and the communities we serve,” the statement said.
Mason modeled the CBCA in part after the Common Application, which allows students to apply to multiple colleges through a single platform. His version, however, centered specifically on historically Black institutions.
“What sets the CBCA apart is our unwavering commitment to Historically Black Colleges and Universities,” Mason said in a recent interview with VoyageATL. “HBCUs have long served as engines of economic mobility and social change, and we are proud to support their enrollment efforts while connecting students with institutions where they can thrive academically and personally.”
An HBCU Education Changed Mason’s Own Life
Mason’s commitment to HBCUs grew out of his own experience.
Born in Roanoke, Virginia, and raised by a single mother, Mason graduated near the bottom of his high school class with a 1.9 GPA. Virginia State University accepted him in 1978, giving him an opportunity that would ultimately shape his career.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Virginia State and became a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Incorporated. He later received a master’s degree in public administration from Clark Atlanta University.
Mason eventually worked in admissions at Clark Atlanta, where he began recognizing a recurring problem: students wanted information about more HBCUs than individual recruiters could realistically represent.
“I was always being asked, ‘Why is this particular college not being represented or why is this particular school not here?’” Mason told U.S. News & World Report in 2023. “And I didn’t have an answer.”
The Common Black College Application became his answer.
Tanya Mitchell, a school counselor and longtime colleague, said Mason wanted the platform to accomplish two things: introduce more students to HBCUs and help smaller institutions strengthen their recruiting efforts.
“He has broken a cycle of poverty in the lives of hundreds of thousands of students worldwide,” Mitchell said.
Mason’s Mission Continues as HBCU Interest Grows
Mason’s work remains particularly significant as interest in historically Black colleges continues to grow.
Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision ending race-conscious admissions practices at colleges and universities, HBCUs have experienced increased attention from students looking for institutions where Black history, culture and academic achievement remain central to campus life.
Tekora Scruggs, founder of the college access nonprofit Rooted to Rise and a longtime higher education professional, said Mason’s platform did more than simplify applications.
“It exposed students to the different types of HBCUs,” Scruggs said. “There are private HBCUs and small HBCUs; there are HBCUs in Alabama, Florida, Virginia.”
She said the platform also introduced young people to the history and continuing importance of historically Black institutions.
“The impact he had was tremendous,” Scruggs said. “The opportunity for students to learn about HBCUs reached beyond just applying. They were learning about their culture, why HBCUs were built and why they are still so important.”
Nearly three decades after Mason launched the Common Black College Application, the platform continues the mission that defined much of his life: making an HBCU education easier to discover and easier to reach.
