US higher education advocates welcome federal support for Hispanic-serving institutions

Higher education advocates in Latino communities say they are optimistic about a new federal effort to support hundreds of local colleges and universities.

Hispanic-serving institutions, or HSIs, which are not-for-profit schools with a full-time equivalent undergraduate student enrollment that is at least a quarter Hispanic, are vital to the goals of equality in educational and economic opportunities, according to the White House. That is the impetus behind President Joe Biden's recent executive order establishing an initiative to increase funding to HSIs and creating a board of advisors on HSIs.

With Hispanic people accounting for almost three-quarters of the nation’s population gain, according to U.S. Census Bureau population estimates from 2022 to 2023, higher education leaders are urging the president to spread the word about the new initiative, given its potential to help Hispanic students catch up to peers from some other backgrounds.

“This is very important for the country to have this type of new development at the national level,” said Antonio R. Flores, president and CEO of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, a nonprofit advocacy group.

“We know the implications of this are also enormous for the nation" because Latinos are a fast-growing demographic, "and this is reflected in higher education enrollment,” said Flores, whose group hopes the White House will hold a formal ceremony in September to promote the HSI initiative.

Biden’s order is intended to strengthen the ability of HSIs to provide high-quality education, benefit from existing federal programs, and increase the educational and economic mobility of their students.

The more than 500 HSIs in the U.S. and Puerto Rico serve more than 4.7 million students every year, according to federal data. Many students are low-income, and nearly a third are eligible for Pell grants, which are federal scholarships for students in need.

Unlike historically Black or Native American tribal colleges and universities, which are given their designations based on their missions, any college can receive the HSI label and related federal money if its Latino enrollment reaches at least 25% of the student body.

Prominent HSIs include the University of California at Riverside, which has had the designation since 2008; California State University at San Bernardino, which has had it since 1994; and the University of Texas at Austin, which earned its designation in 2020. Notable HSI alumni include actress and activist Eva Longoria, union organizer and activist Dolores Huerta and Arturo Moreno, owner of the Los Angeles Angels.

A U.S. Government Accountability Office report this year found that HSIs have extensive facility and digital infrastructure needs, and struggle to meet those needs due to insufficient state funding and rising construction costs.

Lizette Galaviz, a political science major at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, said the school does a good job of meeting Hispanic students' financial aid needs. Since 2022, the school has covered tuition and mandatory fees for students from families whose income is $125,000 or less.

Galaviz said because of the financial aid she receives from the school, she and many of her classmates will graduate with little or no debt. But despite the generous aid, the school has a lot of room for improvement, including with its research capabilities, she said.

“Enhancing the infrastructure and resources that we have would be something that I would like to see,” Galaviz said. “I think educational equity is very important. It is no secret that the Rio Grande Valley is one of the most impoverished areas."

These institutions are critical in widening the pipeline of Latinos going into STEM fields, according to White House officials.

HSIs “play a critical role in ensuring Latinos have access to the middle class and can fulfill their aspirations,” White House domestic policy advisor Neera Tanden said in a statement to The Associated Press. "The president’s executive order will strengthen these critical institutions and build their capacity to provide economic mobility for all their students.”

Hispanic people, who can be of any race, are the nation’s second-largest demographic. Their population grew last year by about 1.2 million, to 65.2 million, meaning Hispanic people make up almost a fifth of the total population. according to census estimates.

Anne-Marie Núñez, executive director of the Natalicio Institute for Hispanic Student Success at the University of Texas, El Paso, said the executive order is just one step toward better-serving students at HSIs which, like HBCUs and tribal colleges, are under-resourced and lack infrastructure.

Both Núñez and Flores said the 21-member advisory board should include Hispanic leaders from various sectors. Núñez said it is important that the rural universities and the Puerto Rican community, which is often overlooked at the federal level, is not forgotten when selections happen.

“This is a positive development, not just for HSIs but for the nation,” Núñez said. “If this order is implemented well, it should broaden opportunities for HSI students and faculty to create career pathways and to advance economic and societal well-being.”

Melissa Camacho, who is studying business administration at the City College of San Francisco, said she thinks resources are lacking for Hispanic students who aren't native English speakers. Even at the Mission Center, a satellite campus of her college where most students are Hispanic and Spanish speakers, some information about support programs is printed or offered in English only, she said.

“In reality, the majority of students do not know what opportunities exist," Camacho said. "The support is there, they just don’t tell us.”

Camacho did find a program that helps students navigate the process of transferring to a four-year university, as well as a student-run club for that helps native Spanish speakers navigate class registration, financial aid and relevant government policy changes.

“There are a lot of students like me who want to continue their education, but we do not have the information and we get discouraged,” said Camacho, who knew little about the new presidential HSI initiative. “If there were more people who told us there are scholarships available, we could show that we want to continue school.”

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