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

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

Hispanic-serving institutions, or HSIs, nonprofit schools with a full-time equivalent undergraduate student enrollment that is at least one-quarter Hispanic, are vital to the goals of equity in educational and economic opportunity, the White House says. That’s the impetus behind President Joe Biden’s recent executive order establishing an initiative to increase funding for HSIs and create a board of advisors for HSIs.

With Spanish speaking people making up almost three quarters of the population population growth of the countryHigher education leaders are urging the president to highlight the new initiative, which has the potential to help Hispanic students catch up with their peers from other backgrounds, according to U.S. Census Bureau population estimates for 2022-2023.

“It’s very important for the country to have these kinds of new developments at the national level,” said Antonio R. Flores, president and CEO of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, a nonprofit organization.

“We know the implications of this are also enormous for the nation,” because Latinos are a fast-growing demographic, “and that 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 capacity of HSIs to provide high-quality education, take advantage of 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 annually, according to federal data. Many students are low-income, and nearly a third qualify for Pell grants, federal grants for students in need.

Unlike historically black or Native American colleges and universities, which receive their designation based on their mission, any college can receive the HSI label and associated federal funding if its Hispanic student body is at least 25% of the student body.

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

A report this year from the U.S. Government Accountability Office found that healthcare organizations have extensive needs for facilities and digital infrastructure, and are struggling to meet those needs due to insufficient government 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 the financial aid needs of Hispanic students. Beginning in 2022, the school will cover tuition and mandatory fees for students from families with incomes of $125,000 or less.

Galaviz said that thanks to 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 still has plenty of room for improvement, including in its research capabilities, she said.

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

White House officials say these institutions are critical to increasing the influx of Latinos into STEM fields.

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

Hispanics, who can be of any race, are the nation’s second-largest demographic group. Their population grew by about 1.2 million last year, to 65.2 million, making them nearly a fifth of the total population, according to Census estimates.

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

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

“This is a positive development, not only for HSIs but for the entire nation,” Núñez said. “If implemented properly, this order should expand opportunities for HSI students and faculty to create career paths and promote economic and societal well-being.”

Melissa Camacho, a business administration major at City College of San Francisco, said she believes there are insufficient resources for Hispanic students who are not native English speakers. Even at Mission Center, a satellite campus of her college where most students are Hispanic and Spanish-speaking, some information about support programs is printed or offered only in English, she said.

“The reality is that the majority of students don’t know what options are out there,” Camacho said. “The support is there, they just don’t tell us.”

Camacho found a program that helps students transfer to four-year universities, and a student-run club that helps Spanish speakers register for classes, financial aid and relevant government policy changes.

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

___

The Associated Press receives funding from the Sony Global Social Justice Fund to expand certain coverage areas. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for collaboration with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas on AP.org.