But that figure differs from the 281 HSIs claimed by the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans a couple of weeks ago. They say the actual number fluctuates — so much so that now the Initiative says there are 156 HSIs. That number, which they say comes from the Education Department, is 17 fewer than the department itself claims. So just how many HSIs are there?

Turning to HACU for a definitive number doesn’t solve the riddle either. Unlike the Education Department, HACU considers a school an HSI if 25 percent of its full-time and part-time students are Hispanic. However, the total they’ve come up with — 201 — counts institutions that have joined HACU.

Which definition to use? I’m going to go with the National Center for Education Statistics. The definition it uses for IPEDS does not appear to include the low-income requirement. The latest figure reported by IPEDS is 236, but that’s for the 2003-2004 academic year. 

IPEDS data indicates that HSIs are concentrated in 12 states — including California, Texas and New Mexico — and Puerto Rico. Perhaps not surprisingly, those states have more than 85 percent of the country’s total Hispanic population, according to 2004 U.S. Census data. More than 60 percent of HSIs are located in urban cities, both mid-size and large. 

Table 2: Location of HSIs by State

Other characteristics of HSIs: Approximately 67 percent are public two-year and four-year institutions, and roughly 59 percent have open admissions policies. Only 28 percent expect a college prep completion program, compared to 41.5 percent of all other institutions. In 2005, nearly 50 percent of all Hispanic students in higher education were enrolled in HSIs.