FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

April 6, 2021 

Data from 2019-20 academic year shows 30 new institutions became HSIs

SAN ANTONIO – The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities has released an analysis of the 2019-20 Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) enrollment data, which shows an increase in the number of Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) and continued growth in Hispanic student enrollment at colleges and universities.

HSIs are institutions with 25 percent or more of Hispanic student enrollment. In 2019-20, HSIs made up 17% of all institutions of higher education and enrolled 67% of all Hispanic undergraduates. As a cohort, HSIs are very diverse and also enroll 41.3% of Asian American, 35.6% of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 24.4% of Black, and 15.8% of non-Hispanic white students.

HACU’s analysis of the 2019-20 IPEDS data used the Higher Education Act (HEA) federal definition of HSIs: nonprofit degree-granting institutions with full-time equivalent (FTE) undergraduate Hispanic student enrollment of at least 25%.

Findings include:

• 235 HSIs are two-year public institutions. 150 HSIs are four-year public institutions.
• 169 HSIs are four-year private institutions. 15 HSIs are two-year private institutions.
• HSIs represent a total of 569 HSIs in 28 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, up from the 539 institutions in 2018-19.
• The number of Emerging HSIs, or colleges approaching the 25% Hispanic student enrollment threshold, showed an increase of ten more institutions from the previous year, which was 352 compared to 362 in the latest data.

Some important facts about HSIs to note:

• HSIs enroll two-thirds of all Hispanic undergraduates.
• The ten states with the most HSIs collectively enroll 308,755 Hispanic students and over 1.5 million students overall.
• When you put together the student population at all HSIs, 46% of students are Hispanic.
• Since 2013, HSIs have increased on average by 29 institutions per year.
• California and Texas account for nearly 50 percent of all HSIs.
• 23 out of the 24 states that have a Hispanic undergraduate enrollment of 10 percent or more, have either an HSI or Emerging HSI.
• A majority of HSIs are in urban areas and are concentrated geographically, with 80% of these institutions located in six states and one territory: California, Florida, Illinois, New Mexico, New York, Texas and Puerto Rico.
• HSIs and Emerging HSIs are present in all but 12 states, including some less known for their Hispanic population, such as Idaho, Kansas, and Georgia.

View the list* of HSIs and Emerging HSIs here. 

Download an HSI Fact Sheet and HSI Map here.

Celebrate Hispanic-Serving Institutions Week, September 13-19, 2021

*This list released in coordination with Excelencia in Education.

About HACU
The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities was established in 1986 with a founding membership of eighteen institutions. In 1992, HACU led the effort to convince Congress to formally recognize campuses with high Hispanic enrollment as federally designated HSIs and to begin targeting federal appropriations to those campuses. Today, HACU represents more than 500 colleges and universities committed to Hispanic higher education success in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Latin America, Spain, and also school districts throughout the U.S. HACU is the only national educational association that represents Hispanic-Serving Institutions. HACU’s headquarters are located in San Antonio, Texas, with regional offices in Washington, D.C., and Sacramento, California.

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HACU Media Contact:
Norma Jean Revilla-Garcia
Executive Director of Communications and Marketing
Hispanic Association of Colleges & Universities
210-576-3206
njgarcia@hacu.net

Christopher de Hoyos
Assistant Director of Communications and Social Media
Hispanic Association of Colleges & Universities
210-576-3242
chris.dehoyos@hacu.net