A Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) is defined in U.S. federal law as an accredited, degree-granting, public or private nonprofit institution of higher education with 25% or higher total undergraduate Hispanic or Latino full-time equivalent (FTE) student enrollment. In the 2021–22 academic year, 572 institutions met the federal criteria, up from 539 institutions in the 2018–19 academic year.Excelencia in Education. (2020). Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs): 2018–19. Washington, D.C.: Excelencia in Education. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
Background According to Title III of the Higher Education Act of 1965, in order for an HSI to receive federal funding it must satisfy the following criteria:Title III, Section 312, HEA
Have a least 25 percent Hispanic or Latino undergraduate full-time equivalent student enrollment. Must be an eligible public or private non-profit institution of higher education Must offer at least two-year academic programs that lead to a degree Must be accredited by an agency or association recognized by the Department of Education Must have high enrollment of students in need
The Department of Education offers grants to institutions defined as HSIs which can be used for many academic purposes serving all ethnicities at the institution including faculty development, funds and administrative management, development and improvement of academic programs, endowment funds, curriculum development, scientific or laboratory equipment for teaching, renovation of instructional facilities, joint use of facilities, academic tutoring, counseling programs and student support services.
Any HSI can benefit from the assistance to increase the amount of Hispanic or Latino students in higher education, and the amount of Hispanic or Latino students graduating from a higher education institution. To be considered an HSI, universities have to meet certain criteria: 2-and 4-year colleges and universities had to have at least a 25% Hispanic or Latino enrollment total. This percentage was the minimum required by the Higher Education Act in 1992 (Laden, 2001). Because HSIs goals are to serve primarily Hispanic populations (Shehadeh & Termos, 2014), they are found in metropolitan areas with increasing Hispanic and Latino populations. Some of these areas include Los Angeles, San Antonio, Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit, and Miami (Laden, 2001). Vigil discusses the increasing rates of Latinos in these areas due to the demand of unskilled temporary labor and for seemingly attainable housing opportunities. Although HSI's help Latino students in higher education, "HSI's do not have a declared, specific mission to serve Hispanics" (Laden, 2001).Garcia, G. A. (2019). Becoming Hispanic-Serving Institutions: Opportunities for Colleges and Universities. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.Marybeth Gasman, Andrés Castro Samayoa, William Casey Boland, & Paola Esmieu (eds.), Educational Challenges and Opportunities at Minority Serving Institutions (New York, NY: Routledge Press, 2018).Marybeth Gasman, Benjamin Baez, and Caroline Turner (eds.), Understanding Minority Serving Institutions (Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, March 2008).
Title V of the Act, introduced in 1998, is another funding stream specifically for HSIs to assist them in improving their higher educational provision.
Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities In 1992, the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities led the effort to convince Congress to formally recognize campuses with high Hispanic enrollment as federally designated HSIs and to begin targeting federal appropriations to those campuses. Today, HACU represents nearly 470 colleges and universities committed to Hispanic higher education success in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Latin America, Spain and Portugal. Although HACU member institutions in the U.S. represent less than 13% of all higher education institutions nationwide, together they enroll more than two-thirds of all Hispanic college students. HACU is the only national educational association that represents Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs).
Funding HSI federal funding grew in the early years (1998–2004) of Title V (the original and still linchpin HSI federal funding program), then leveled off from 2004-07 as the number of HSIs and Hispanic college students continued to grow. It increased dramatically in 2008 with the addition of the HSI STEM program, but since the Recession of 2009–10, it has actually declined while HSIs and Hispanic enrollments have increased even more rapidly.William Casey Boland, Marybeth Gasman, Thai-Huy Nguyen, & Andrés Castro Samayoa, "Master Plan and the Future of California Higher Education: Assessing the Impact of State Policy on Minority Serving Institutions," American Educational Research Journal (2018).William Casey Boland, Marybeth Gasman, Andrés Castro Samayoa, Andrew Martinez, and Brandy Jones, Even More Potential to Serve: Florida's Minority Serving Institutions. Philadelphia, PA: Penn Center for Minority Serving Institutions, 2018.William Casey Boland, Andrés Castro Samayoa, Marybeth Gasman, and Thai-Huy Nguyen, An Unstoppable Tidal Wave of Progress: Minority Serving Institutions in Texas. Philadelphia, PA: Penn Center for Minority Serving Institutions, 2017.William Casey Boland, Andrés Castro Samayoa, Thai-Huy Nguyen, Marybeth Gasman, Chris Jimenez, Elisa Chen, & Vera Wang, Striking Gold in the Golden State: Harnessing the Power of Minority Serving Institutions in California. Philadelphia, PA: Penn Center for Minority Serving Institutions, 2015.Thai-Huy Nguyen, Valerie Lundy Wagner, Andrés Castro Samayoa, and Marybeth Gasman, On Their Own Terms: Two-Year Minority Serving Institutions. Philadelphia, PA: Penn Center for Minority Serving Institutions, 2015.
One of the main challenges HSIs face as they address their critical role is persistent underfunding relative to other degree-granting institutions. According to 2016–17 IPEDS data, HSIs on average received $3,117 per student on average from all federal revenue sources, compared to $4,605 per student for all degree-granting institutions, just two-thirds the funding to educate a disproportionately low-income student population. The result is that HSIs only receive on average 68 cents for every federal dollar going to all other colleges and universities annually.
Largest Hispanic university enrollments
2019–2020 total enrollment, 4-year schools Program Ranking 1 Miami Dade College 2 Dallas College 3 Florida International University 4 South Texas College 5 Lone Star College System 6 The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley 7 Grand Canyon University 8 Bakersfield College 9 San Jacinto Community College 10 Valencia College 11 The University of Texas at El Paso 12 Austin Community College District 13 University of Central Florida 14 Rio Hondo College 15 Santa Ana College 16 Broward College 17 California State University, Northridge 18 The University of Texas at San Antonio 19 California State University, Fullerton 20 Arizona State University Campus Immersion 21 California State University, Los Angeles 22 Western Governors University 23 California State University, Long Beach 24 Southern New Hampshire University 25 University of Houston 26 College of Southern Nevada 27 Texas A & M University College Station 28 Texas State University 29 The University of Texas at Arlington 30 Santa Monica College 31 University of Phoenix Arizona 32 California State University, San Bernardino 33 California State University, Fresno 34 California State Polytechnic University, Pomona 35 Modesto Junior College
While Hispanics study in colleges and universities throughout the country, some choose to attend federally-designated Hispanic-serving institutions, institutions that are accredited, degree-granting, public or private nonprofit institutions of higher education with 25 percent or more total undergraduate Hispanic full-time equivalent (FTE) student enrollment. There are over 600 institutions of higher education that have been designated as an HSI.
Universities with the largest Hispanic undergraduate enrollment (2013) Rank University Hispanic enrollment % of student body 1 Florida International University 24,105 67% 2 University of Texas at El Paso 15,459 81% 3 University of Texas Pan American 15,009 91% 4 University of Texas at San Antonio 11,932 47% 5 California State University at Northridge 11,774 38% 6 California State University at Fullerton 11,472 36% 7 Arizona State University 11,465 19% 8 California State University at Long Beach 10,836 35% 9 California State University at Los Angeles 10,392 58% 10 University of Central Florida 10,255 20%Universities with the largest Hispanic graduate enrollment (2013) Rank University Hispanic enrollment % of student body 1 Nova Southeastern University 4,281 20% 2 Florida International University 3,612 42% 3 University of Southern California 2,358 11% 4 University of Texas Pan American 2,120 78% 5 University of Texas at El Paso 2,083 59% 6 CUNY Graduate Center 1,656 30% 7 University of New Mexico 1,608 26% 8 University of Texas at San Antonio 1,561 35% 9 University of Florida 1,483 9% 10 Arizona State University 1,400 10%Hispanic student enrollment in university and college systems (2012–2013) Rank University system Hispanic enrollment % of student body 1 California Community College System 642,045 41% 2 California State University 149,137 33% 3 Florida College System 118,821 26% 4 University of Texas System 84,086 39% 5 State University System of Florida 79,931 24% 6 City University of New York 77,341 30% 7 State University of New York 43,514 9% 8 University of California 42,604 18% 9 Texas A&M University System 27,165 25% 10 Nevada System of Higher Education 21,467 21% – Ivy League 11,562 10%
List of all institutions
Below are institutions of higher education designated as Hispanic-Serving Institutions in the United States based on 2023–24 data from the HACU (Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities).
Arizona Arizona State University Arizona State University, West Valley Arizona Western College Central Arizona College Chandler–Gilbert Community College Cochise College Eastern Arizona College Estrella Mountain Community College GateWay Community College Glendale Community College Maricopa Community Colleges Mesa Community College Mohave Community College Northern Arizona University Ottawa University-Surprise Phoenix College Pima Community College Scottsdale Community College South Mountain Community College University of Arizona
Arkansas Cossatot Community College
California Allan Hancock College Alliant International University American River College Antelope Valley College Antioch University-Santa Barbara Azusa Pacific University Bakersfield College Barstow Community College Berkeley City College Butte College Cabrillo College California Baptist University California Lutheran University California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt California State Polytechnic University, Pomona California State University, Bakersfield California State University, Channel Islands California State University, Chico California State University, Dominguez Hills California State University, East Bay California State University, Fresno California State University, Fullerton California State University, Long Beach California State University, Los Angeles California State University, Monterey Bay California State University, Northridge California State University, San Bernardino California State University, San Marcos California State University, Stanislaus Cañada College Casa Loma College Cerritos Community College District Cerro Coso Community College Chabot College Chabot–Las Positas Community College District Chaffey College Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science Citrus College City College of San Francisco Clovis Community College Coalinga College Coast Community College District