“I applaud my beloved alma mater’s proactive stance while still honoring the institution’s traditons,” said Charmagne Helton, a 1994 graduate. “I am as proud of Spelman College as I was the first moment I set foot on campus more than 25 years ago.”

Campbell’s letter said Spelman will have a committee to consider the impact on the campus resulting from the new policy.

In recent years, more single-gender colleges and universities are admitting transgender students. Since 2014, at least eight women’s colleges have moved to allow transgender women, according to Diverse Issues in Higher Education.

Agnes Scott College, located in Decatur, adopted a policy in 2015 that accepts students who were assigned female at birth as well as those who were assigned male or female at birth who now identify as female or transgender.

Bennett College, the nation’s only other all-female HBCU, located in Greensboro, N.C., also allows transgender female students.

Staff writer Ernie Suggs contributed to this article.