What Is a Hispanic College?

The Hispanic population is one of the largest and fastest growing non-white population groups in the United States, according to Pew Research. And over the past several decades, the high school dropout rate of Hispanic students has been steadily dropping, and the rate of college enrollment has increased. To better serve these students, many post-secondary institutions have become Hispanic-Serving Institutions, or HSIs. This designation allows them to receive federal funding to better assist Hispanic college students. We’ll take a broad look at HSIs, including their significance and importance in delivering a college education to Hispanic students.

Hispanic-Serving Institutions are colleges and universities that enroll a significant number of low-income students and who also have a large Hispanic student population. The precise definition of an HSI will depend on the context and purpose of the designation.

For example, to become a member of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU), 25 percent of a school’s total enrollment must consist of Hispanic students. This total enrollment includes all students, at both graduate and undergraduate levels and those who attend school full-time or part-time.

In other words, an HSI is a college or university that meets the eligibility requirements of Title III of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (Title III provides federal funding to post-secondary institutions to help low-income and minority students) but also has a large number of Hispanic students (at least 25 percent of the full-time equivalent population).

But an HSI is much more than a racially and ethnically diverse student population. One quite notable difference is that HSIs excel in graduation rates. To put it in perspective, more than 74 percent of full-time students at four-year HSIs graduated within six years, while the federal graduation rate was less than 43 percent. HSIs also serve Hispanic students by promoting a racially diverse student body, fostering a positive and open campus and providing student services that are specifically designed to help Hispanic students. For instance, school administrators and service providers are bilingual, and the colleges operate Latinx outreach programs at local area high schools.

Within the context of federal funding, the requirements of an HSI are more stringent. To receive federal funds pursuant to Title V of the Higher Education Act of 1965, a school qualifies as an HSI if all of the following requirements are met:

Many HSIs offer robust resources for students, and some of them are quite unique. Here are a few examples of campus resources for Hispanic students that can make an enormous difference in the lives of those who take advantage of them.

Curious about which schools are HSIs and how they stack up against each other? See how the HSI schools rank against each other in terms of graduation rates, percentage of Latinx student enrollment, financial aid offered and student retention, and learn about the individual schools on our list and what they offer Hispanic students.

HSIs are important because they place a special emphasis on educating Hispanic students. Given the growing size of the Hispanic population in the United States as a whole, along with the benefit of a college degree, it’s easy to understand the significance and importance of HSIs. Hispanic-Serving Institutions also have a high percentage of low-income students; the more opportunities these students have to complete their education and earn a higher wage upon graduation, the better.

The statistics back up the benefit of HSIs. The graduation rate of full-time students at HSIs exceeds the federal rate across both public and private four-year schools, as well as two-year public colleges. A higher graduation rate translates into more individuals with a degree that can move them into a higher-paying job, thus encouraging a better life for those who worked hard for that degree. The impact of that higher wage not only serves the person who earns it, but helps their families and communities as well.

Another reason why HSIs are important boils down to money, and how much of it goes to the students who really need it. It’s expensive to operate a post-secondary educational institution. Despite all the talk about the high cost of a college degree, in many schools, the tuition that students pay only covers part of the total cost of their education. That’s why colleges and universities rely heavily on donations and federal funds to educate students.

If a school is recognized by the US Department of Education as an HSI, it is eligible to receive federal grants that are exclusive to HSIs. HSIs receive funds through Title V, which they can use for a plethora of authorized uses, including providing student services, upgrading facilities and improving the quality of faculty and academic offerings. This provides a much better educational experience for students.

HSIs have a wide degree of latitude in how they use federal grant money to improve the college education experience of Hispanic students. Let’s take a look at some of the more popular programs.

With the overall growth of the Hispanic population, there has been a corresponding growth of HSIs. When the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) was founded in 1986, it had less than 20 founding member institutions. Currently, HACU represents more than 450 post-secondary institutions in the United States, Spain, Latin America and Puerto Rico.

A significant step in HSI growth began in 1995 when Congress allowed for schools with high numbers of Hispanic students to be eligible to receive federal grants on the basis of Hispanic student populations. During this first year, HSIs received $12 million. In the 2018 year, HSIs received over $120 million. The primary reason for this increase in funding is due to the immense growth in HSIs over the past decade. For instance, from 2006 to 2016, the number of HSIs rose by 78 percent. The number of HSIs, as well the amount of federal money flowing to them, is expected to continue growing for the foreseeable future as the Hispanic population makes up a larger percentage of the United States population

The United States Census Bureau estimates that by 2060, the Hispanic population will reach 119 million and make up more than 28 percent of the United States population. To put this in perspective, as of July 1, 2016, the US Census Bureau estimated that the Hispanic population consisted of 57.5 million individuals and made up 17.8 percent of the total population.