ROTC on Campus: Leadership Development for a Lifetime (2008) 4pgArmy Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) programs remain popular at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Established in 1916, this program, which has commissioned over 500,000 second lieutenants since it began, pays for a student's tuition in return for the student accepting a commission and serving full time on active duty, usually four years. At HBCUs, 3,307 students enrolled in the army, navy, or air force ROTC programs in 2007. Although it is a challenge to recruit students in a time of war, military officials claim that students are attracted by program's huge financial benefits. Although students at HBCUs have a variety of reasons for signing up for ROTC programs, they ultimately remain in the program because of the challenge of leadership and the wish to participate in the military culture. Recruiters acknowledge that there can be flagrant bitterness toward the military from adults, especially the parents of some black students, however.