The Hispanic-Serving Designation: Asset or Deficit?
By Kerri Allen
PRINCETON, N.J.
There are more than 200 American colleges and universities federally designated as Hispanic-Serving Institutions, but only four mention this classification in their mission statements, says Dr. Victor B. Saenz. The education researcher, who examines the college student experience, noted the inconsistency at a recent higher education forum, saying that diversity and excellence in higher education are not mutually exclusive. The challenge is getting increasingly diverse institutions to welcome the new opportunities diversity offers.
“Let’s think of HSI-standing as an asset, not a deficit,” says Saenz, who oversees two national survey projects at the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles. “For those that are facing this new idea of being Hispanic-serving, step one is acknowledging that this is a new identity that the institution can embrace.” Saenz spoke of the HSI designation before an assembly of about 60 educators, researchers and advocates at last month’s Higher Education Research Collective in Princeton, N.J.
The meeting, titled “Setting the Research Agenda for Hispanic Success in Higher Education,” was hosted by the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities and addressed obstacles to success for Hispanic students. It was the last of three regional discussions organized by HACU, following meetings earlier this summer in California and Texas.
The lack of minority faculty to teach on increasingly diverse campuses emerged as one of the major areas of discussion during the daylong event. Another theme was the academic politics surrounding a college or university’s status as a Hispanic-Serving Institution.
The U.S. Department of Education classifies an HSI as a non-profit institution that has at least a 25 percent Hispanic, full-time equivalent enrollment. At least half of the Hispanic student population must also be low income as defined as 150 percent of the poverty level as defined by the Census Bureau. This is also known as Title V status. In 2006, the Education Department earmarked nearly $95 million for 173 HSIs. According to the Institution Development and Undergraduate Education Service in Washington, 31 new HSIs were funded in 2004; 46 in 2005; and 36 in 2006.
