Hundreds of colleges and universities have used the fact that they’re classified as a Hispanic-serving institution to their advantage.
HSIs Schools Are In The Hundreds
Hundreds of colleges and universities have used the fact that they’re classified as a Hispanic-serving institution to their advantage. The federal government declares them as HSIs if at least a quarter of their undergraduates are Hispanic. In 2000, there were 229 and the amount has more than doubled at more than 492, and it’s projected to grow even higher in the coming years. The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) has found that majority of Hispanic students seem to attend schools that are near their homes. States with large Hispanic populations like California and Texas tend to have more than half of their total undergraduate enrollment identify as Hispanic.
Hispanic Outlook’s Hispanic of the Year, Antonio Flores, the president and chief executive of HACU, said regional colleges are responding to the surge of Hispanic students in elementary and secondary schools. Some universities, he said, have become particularly skilled at partnerships with K-12 school systems and community colleges.
He cited California State University at San Bernardino, which works closely with San Bernardino Valley College. At both schools, the Hispanic share of students exceeds 60 percent. The teamwork, Flores said, “has paid off, big time.”
Other schools with less Hispanic enrollment growth are considered emerging HSIs and have at least 15 percent but less than 25 percent of Hispanic undergraduate enrollment.
These trends are seen in all parts of the country. “It affects institutions everywhere,” said Deborah A. Santiago, chief executive of the nonprofit advocacy group Excelencia in Education. In the last several years, she said, many schools have embraced what it means to be an HSI or emerging HSI. Now, she said, the challenge is to get more Hispanic students to finish a degree. “If you don’t enroll them, you can’t graduate them,” she said. “But it’s not sufficient to enroll them.”
Tables that illuminate the Hispanic and total undergraduate enrollment at nationally ranked colleges and universities, as well as more information is available at https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2018/12/18/which-colleges-enroll-most-hispanic-students/?fbclid=IwAR31Y_FFjOMHPSnirhucZtXJRpDNoFzLNGzWNK_F6SqMUTJJt7BNmBYBD04&noredirect=on&utm_term=.91538de9df14
Photo Courtesy of San Bernardino Valley College’s Facebook page
Hispanic Outlook’s Pick for Hispanic of the Year Antonio R. Flores, Ph.D. https://www.hispanicoutlook.com/articles/hispanic-outlooks-pick-hispanic-year-antonio-r-flo
More Than 60 Higher Education Leaders Endorse Seal of Excelencia https://www.hispanicoutlook.com/articles/seal-of-excelencia
Hispanic Outlook is an education magazine in the US available both in print and digital form. Visit https://www.hispanicoutlook.com/education-magazine for information about our latest issue.
