How critical are Hispanic-Serving Institutions to improving academic achievement of Latinos?
An analysis by Excelencia in Education and the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) found that in the 2013-14 academic year, 12 percent of all post-secondary institutions met the definition of Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs).
Hispanic-Serving Institutions are accredited and degree-granting public and private colleges and universities where at least 25 percent of total undergraduate enrollees are Latino.
What is significant is that HSIs currently enroll 60 percent of all Latino undergraduates.
Some key findings:
- There are currently 409 HSIs in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, up from 189 in 1994.
- There are HSIs in 21 states.
- There are 296 institutions in 29 states that may soon meet the definition of an HSI because their Latino enrollment is increasing.
- The number of HSIs offering graduate programs has tripled to 156 from 52 in 1994.
- In 2013-14, 38 percent of Latino graduate students were enrolled at an HSI.
– Kelly Carrión