Hispanic-Serving Institutions

Historical Development of HSIs

Most HSIs were not purposely designed with a mission to serve Latina/o students, which makes them different from other minority-serving institutions (MSIs), such as historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) or tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) that have a specific mission to serve African Americans and Native Americans respectively. Only some HSIs—such as Hostos Community College, Boricua College, and National Hispanic University—were created with an explicit mission to meet the educational needs of Latina/o/s. Instead, the majority of HSIs developed from increases in their Latina/o student body over time. HSIs were formally recognized by the federal government in 1992, after several collaborative efforts to seek additional resources for institutions that increasingly enrolled Latina/o undergraduates.

The concept of HSIs first emerged in the 1980s when some colleges and universities saw increased enrollments of Latina/o/s from their surrounding communities. The administrative leadership at these institutions advocated for formal recognition of these colleges and universities in an effort to receive additional support to improve educational facilities and the overall quality of education for students. During a series of 1983 congressional hearings, the term Hispanic Institutions was first used to refer to these colleges and universities with [Page 1067]large enrollments of Latina/o students. The hearings focused on Latina/o/s' inequitable access to higher education and their increasing representation at a set of institutions that received limited funding to meet the needs of this population. As a call to action, a federal legislative bill was introduced in 1984 to support “Hispanic institutions” that had at least a 40% enrollment of students of Mexican American, Puerto Rican, Cuban, or other Hispanic background. While this federal initiative recognized the growing presence of Latina/o/s in higher education, funding for these unique institutions was not approved in the 1984 reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA).

Pedestrian walkway connecting the two halves of Hostos Community College in New York City. The college was established in 1968 in response to the demands of Puerto Rican and other Hispanic leaders who urged the establishment of a college to meet the needs of the South Bronx. The majority of students are Hispanic (58.6% in 2010), with Black students making up the second-largest group (28% in 2010).

Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Nonetheless, institutional leaders continued their collaborative efforts, which eventually led to the creation of a coalition to advocate for these demographically distinct colleges and universities. These leaders agreed that 25% Latina/o student enrollment constituted a “critical mass” of students to identify an institution that served a significantly high proportion of Latina/o students. The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU), a national educational association, was created in 1986 to unite and represent these largely Hispanic-enrolled institutions. HACU's mission was to promote the development of these colleges and universities and expand educational opportunities for Latina/o/s in higher education. Since its inception, HACU has been instrumental in the development of HSIs and introduced the term Hispanic-Serving Institution at the first annual conference in 1986.

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