Written by Patrick L. Valdez, Ph.D.

An Overview of Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) Policy Formation

Due to a cadre of committed higher education researchers and scholars, we know the role and impact Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) play in educating Latinx students---yet we know little about HSI policy formation. One way to understand the impact of early Latinx higher education advocates is to look at policy formation as a sequence of legislative actions that occur over a decade (Dougherty, Nienhusser, & Vega, 2010). In doing so, we are able to “study the complex process of [policy] formation and change within interest groups that support or resist a policy or program” (Cooper, Fusarelli, & Randall, 2004, p. 26) over a period of time (Hojnacki, 1997; Sabatier & Jenkins-Smith, 1993).  This article provides an overview of early Latinx higher education advocates between 1979 and 1985, that paved the way for Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) legislation in 1992---and it connects HSI policy formation to the signing of the Higher Education Act (HEA) of 1965.

HEA of 1965, Title III: Strengthening Developing Institutions

Originally composed of Titles I through VIII, the HEA of 1965 became the federal government’s primary legislative bill to strengthen developing colleges and universities and provide federal aid to students. Title III, Strengthening Developing Institutions, was created to appropriate federal monies to “developing institutions.”  As stated in the HEA of 1965, developing Institutions were defined as colleges “which for financial and other reasons are struggling for survival and are isolated from the main currents of academic life” (HEA of 1965, p. 1229). Establishing a direct lineage between HSI legislation and the HEA of 1965 (Espino & Cheslock, 2008) is important because it helps identify early Latino higher education advocates, and it situates their work within the context of American higher education history---a history from which we have been largely excluded in higher education textbooks.

1976: Emergence of Latino HEA Testimony

Between 1967 and 1975, Latino advocacy groups like the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), United Farm Workers (UFW), and Service, Employment, and Redevelopment (SER) delivered testimony before Congress focused on the broad social issues affecting the general welfare of the Latino community. This changed in 1976 when Dr. Candido de Leon, president of Eugenio de Hostos Community College located in New York City’s Bronx borough, delivered testimony that raised questions specific to HEA’s Title III grant application process and the distribution of program awards to developing institutions serving large concentrations of Hispanic students (Higher Education Act Amendments, 1976).

1978: The Hispanic Higher Education Coalition - A new Vanguard

In October 1978, a broad-based coalition of Latino organizations in Washington DC coalesced to form the Hispanic Higher Education Coalition (HHEC). The HHEC comprised individuals representing eight national Hispanic organizations. The organizations were: ASPIRA of America, El Congreso Nacional de Asuntos Colegiales (CONAC), League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), Mexican American Legal Defense & Educational Fund (MALDEF), National Association for Equal Educational Opportunities, National Council de La Raza (NCLR), Puerto Rican Legal Defense & Education Fund (PRLDEF), Inc., and U.S. Catholic Conference. Once organized, the HHEC focused on Title III as the primary measure to increase federal aid to developing colleges and universities serving large Latino student populations.

Following Dr. de Leon’s testimony in 1976, HHEC members delivered testimony concerned about the low level of Title III appropriations being delivered to programs at developing colleges and universities serving Latino students.  These concerns were supported by two General Accounting Office (GAO) reports that found major discrepancies in the Office of Education’s (OE) administration of the program. During these same hearings, HHEC testimony, delivered by Dr. Alvin Rivera, recommended that Title III be changed to "Strengthening Developing Institutions and College Programs” (“Reauthorization of the HEA,” 1979, p. 333). The HHEC recommendation was not adopted into the final version of the HEA in 1980 (Higher Education Amendments, 1980), but discussions surrounding the participation of institutions serving Hispanic students and the definition of a developing institution led to a Senate and House resolution that, in turn, led to a restructuring of Title III, divided into three parts: Part A, Strengthening Institutions; Part B, Aid to Institutions with Special Needs; and Part C, Challenge Grants (Stedman, 1982).

1984: HEA of 1986, Title III Hearings: Moving towards HSI Designation

Although HHEC testimony in 1979 led to changes in Title III’s structure, a specific definition and allocation of funds  for a college or university serving a concentration of Latino students remained absent from the legislation. During the 1982 Hispanic Access to Higher Education hearings, the first-ever congressional hearing focused on Hispanic higher education (Hispanic Access to Higher Education, 1982), Dr. Arturo Madrid, former Director of the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), submitted HHEC testimony on the importance of increasing federal support to colleges and universities serving Hispanics (“Hispanic Access,” 1982).  After a year of policy-making negotiations, Congress added Part A, Section 312 (f)(3) which made “any institution of higher education which has an enrollment of which at least 20 percent are Mexican American, Puerto Rican, Cuban, or other Hispanic students on thereof” eligible for Title III funding (Higher Education Amendments, 1986). The 1986 HEA was the first time that a specific percentage of Hispanic enrolment was enacted as an eligibility amendment for Title III funding, and it was the last year the HHEC would provide HEA testimony.

1986: Passing the Baton

In 1986, the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) was founded in San Antonio, Texas (HACU, 2011). In 1992, HACU introduced legislation increasing the enrollment threshold to 25% and coined the term Hispanic Serving Institution (Higher Education Amendments, 1992). Since 1986, HACU’s advocacy has been well chronicled.  The role that the HHEC and early Latinx advocates played in formulating the HSI designation has been less chronicled. Thus, this article has sought  to inform and celebrate that the passage of HSI legislation in 1992 was a direct result of Latinx advocacy and efforts that started in 1976. 

References

Cooper, B. S., Fusarelli, L. D., & Randall, E. V. (2004). Better policies, better schools: Theories and applications (1st ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Dougherty, K. J., Nienhusser, H. K., & Vega, B. E. (2010). Undocumented immigrants and state higher education policy: the politics of in-state tuition eligibility in Texas and Arizona. The Review of Higher Education, 34(1), 123–173. doi:10.1353/rhe.2010.0012

Espino, M., & Cheslock, J. J. (2008). Considering the federal classification of Hispanic-serving institutions and Historically Black colleges and universities. In M. Gasman, B. Baez, & C. S. Turner (Eds.), Understanding minority-serving institutions (pp. 257–268). Albany, NY: SUNY Press.

Higher Education Act, Pub. L. 89-329 (1965).

Higher Education Act Amendments, Subcommittee on Education, Arts, and Humanities of the Committee on Labor and Human Resources, 94th Cong. 1 (1976) (testimony of Candido de Leon).

Higher Education Amendments of 1980, Pub. L. 96-374 (1980).

Higher Education Amendments of 1986, Pub. L. 99-498 (1986).

Higher Education Amendments of 1992, Pub. L. 102-325 (1992).

Hispanic Access to Higher Education: Hearing before the Subcommittee on Postsecondary Education of the Committee on Education and Labor, House of Representatives, 97th Cong. 1 (1982).

Hispanic Association of College and Universities. (2011). About HACU/HACU 101. Retrieved from http://www.hacu.net/hacu/HACU_101.asp

Hojnacki, M. (1997). Interest groups’ decisions to join alliances or work alone. American Journal of Political Science, 41(1), 61–87.

Reauthorization of the Higher Education Act and Related Measure, Part 1: Hearings before the Subcommittee on Postsecondary Education of the Committee on Education and Labor, House of Representatives, 96th Cong. 1 (1979) (testimony of Joseph Califano).

Reauthorization of the Higher Education Act and Related Measures, Part 1: Hearings before the Subcommittee on Postsecondary Education of the Committee on Education and Labor, House of Representatives, 96th Cong. 1 (1979) (testimony of Alvin Rivera).

Sabatier, P.A., & Jenkins-Smith, H. C. (1993). Policy change and learning: An advocacy coalition approach. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

Stedman, J. (1982). Federal institutional aid for postsecondary education: Analysis of Title III of the higher education act (Report No. 82-194 EPW). Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service.

Author Bio:

Dr. Patrick L. Valdez is an accomplished higher education leader with 25 years of experience in developing academic and student success programs. He holds a doctorate in higher education administration from The University of Texas at Austin.

Chair, AAHHE Board of Directors and former Chancellor and Professor of Education, UNM-Taos. plv07@utexas.edu - 210-557-4205