The number of Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) is increasing again.

6 min readMar 30, 2023

by: Deborah Santiago, Emily Labandera, and Sami R. Nour, Excelencia in Education

HSIs disproportionately enroll and graduate Latino students. And the number of HSIs is increasing once again after last year’s significant decline. Today, there are 571 HSIs, up from 559 last year when the number of HSIs decreased for the first time in 20 years in part due to enrollment declines, institutional closings, and consolidation in the first year of the COVID pandemic.

The current growth is due to increased Latino enrollment concentration that has tipped Emerging HSIs into HSIs. Excelencia in Education developed the Emerging HSIs (eHSI) classification to track the pipeline of institutions with 15–24.9% undergraduate full-time equivalent (FTE) Hispanic student enrollment and on their way to meeting the enrollment threshold to become HSIs. While there are 571 HSIs this year, there are 401 eHSIs, and the pipeline continues to grow.

HSIs represent about 20% of higher education (19% of all colleges and universities*) and yet enroll the majority of Latino undergraduates (62%). In addition, the majority of HSIs are public institutions (69%). HSIs¹ were formally recognized in federal legislation in 1992 for capacity-building support to improve the access and quality of education for Latino and other low-income students. HSIs are a critical set of degree-granting institutions enrolling Latino students; because they are defined by enrollment, with a threshold of 25% or more total undergraduate Hispanic FTE enrollment, and the Latino population is growing, the number of HSIs changes each year.

How has the number of HSIs changed? They have increased!

The net change in the number of HSIs from year to year results from two primary reasons:

Latino undergraduate FTE enrollment crossing over or under the 25% threshold
Institutional closures and mergers

Other, more rare reasons for changes in the number of HSIs include the following:

Institutions that newly report to IPEDS in the given academic year
Title IV (financial aid) participation
Revisions to degree level awarded in the past academic year
Type of discipline of degrees awarded in the past academic year

36–24=12

Over the last year, 36 institutions became an HSI and 24 institutions lost HSI status resulting in a net increase of 12 HSIs.

Of the 36 new HSIs this year, almost all (32) became an HSI by crossing the 25% Hispanic FTE enrollment threshold. Others were newly reporting to IPEDS, or more recently began participating in Title IV and were thus eligible. Of the 24 institutions who lost their HSI status this year, the majority dropped below the 25% Latino undergraduate FTE enrollment threshold and returned to eHSI status (14 institutions). Of the remaining 10, they either closed (3), were merged into, or acquired by another institution (2), became a for-profit institution (1), no longer awarded associate’s or bachelor’s degrees (3), or awarded only religious undergraduate degrees in the previous academic year (1).

Source: Excelencia in Education analysis using U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), 2017–2021 Fall Enrollment, Institutional Characteristics, and Completion Surveys.

Where are HSIs and eHSIs located? All over the U.S.!

In 2021–22, the representation of HSIs has widened and are now in 30 locations: 28 states, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. States and locations with large Latino populations have the most HSIs, such as: California (170), followed by Texas (101), Puerto Rico (59), and New York (37). As the Latino population continues to grow, and as HSIs continue to increase, states not generally known for having large Latino populations now have HSIs and a growing number of eHSIs. Consider that at least six states such as Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Nebraska, Ohio, and Wisconsin, each have at least one HSI. Further, states such as Alabama, Idaho, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming each have at least one eHSI that may become HSIs in the coming years.

Source: Excelencia in Education analysis using U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), 2021 Fall Enrollment, Institutional Characteristics, and Completion Surveys.

Why should we pay attention to eHSIs? They are future HSIs!

The defining characteristic of HSIs is their Hispanic enrollment, not their institutional mission. While there are 571 institutions that met the HSI enrollment criteria in 2021–22, there are also 401 institutions that have between 15 and 24.9% undergraduate FTE Hispanic enrollment. These 401 institutions are eHSIs.

These eHSIs represent a growing subset of colleges and universities (13%) and the number of eHSIs continues to increase year after year. Just in the last year alone, the number of eHSIs has increased by eight institutions. As the number of eHSIs grows, so too does their geographic representation. Almost all states have at least one eHSI. Consider that eHSIs are located in 42 states and the District of Columbia, including states like Alabama, Hawaii, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Utah, and Wyoming.

In contrast to HSIs, eHSIs are more likely to be private (45% compared to 32%), and as eHSIs have continued to grow over the years, increasingly more of these institutions are private. Because eHSIs represent a growing subset of institutions that are on the cusp of becoming HSIs, in the years ahead we may start to see growing representation of HSIs shift away from public to private.

Why does this matter? As HSIs grow, so does the opportunity to more intentionally SERVE Latino students!

During the past 28 years, policymakers and institutional leaders have come to accept the HSI classification as socially and academically meaningful, and funding that targets HSIs could improve the quality of education for Latino and other low-income students. However, simply reaching an enrollment threshold of Latino students is not the same as intentionally SERVING them. Excelencia releases its annual lists and analyses on HSIs and eHSIs to bring awareness and attention to a critical group of institutions that are enrolling and graduating the majority of all Latino students in the U.S. Are HSIs making significant, intentional strides in accelerating Latino student success? Excelencia established the Seal of Excelencia, as a way to set expectations of institutional efforts higher. The Seal is a national certification for institutions that strive to go beyond enrollment to intentionally SERVE Latino students and can demonstrate their commitment to continue their transformation journey to ensure their Latino, and all, students enrolled at their campus are successful. Today, of the 30 institutions that are Seal-certified, 28 are now HSIs.

To learn more about HSIs, eHSIs, and to interact with Excelencia’s data, visit: https://www.edexcelencia.org/research/series/hsi-2021-2022.

*Note: For all colleges and universities we include degree-granting, public or private not-for-profit, Title IV-participating institutions of higher education.

**Note: The terms “Latino” and “Hispanic” are used interchangeably.

[1] HSIs are defined as accredited, degree-granting public or private not-for-profit institutions of higher education with 25% or more total undergraduate Hispanic full-time equivalent student (FTE) enrollment. Summary of Title V of the Higher Education Act, as amended in 2008. To be eligible for the “Developing HSIs Program”, the law further requires an HSI have a high enrollment of needy students and low core expenditures.