Title V: Developing HSIs Funding in 2026

By: Deborah A. Santiago, CEO, Excelencia in Education

The purpose of the Developing HSIs program legislated in 1992 of the Higher Education Act is to meet a clear national need — ensuring that institutions with low educational and general expenditures, a high enrollment of needy students, and disproportionately enrolling Latinos students — a young, fast-growing, significantly underrepresented population — can fairly compete for limited federal funds to strengthen their institutional capacity to offer access to a quality education.

Cancellation and redistribution of Title V funding: FY25

Institutions that successfully compete for federal Title V funds have Comprehensive Development Plans (CDPs) approved by ED for five years. Thus, in a given year, there are new grantees as well as non-competing continuations (NCCs) grantees — institutions in the process of fulfilling five-year plans. For example, in FY24, there were 49 new grantees (over $28 million) and 343 continuing grantees (over $191 million).

After 30 years of federal funding, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) canceled $229 million in HSI funding for FY25 and redistributed the funds to other institutions based on their assertion that the MSIs’ enrollment thresholds based on race/ethnicity were unconstitutional. The constitutionality of the MSI programs is being addressed through the judicial system currently without a timeline for a decision. This cancellation of funds left 49 institutions of the FY24 cohort without over $112 million in pre-approved Title V funds¹ and an additional estimated 200 non-competing continuation grantees (NCCs) without an estimated $100 million. The cancellation of these funds divests in HSIs across the country that had been approved to implement five-year comprehensive development plans to innovate and increase access to a quality education for all students.

Title V funding: FY26

Congress once again appropriated discretionary funds for HSIs under Title V totaling $259 million for FY26. Congress also appropriated $102 million for Title III Part A Strengthening Institutions program (SIP) and $78 million for other MSIs. However, in anticipation of the Administration’s decision to once again redistribute these funds beyond Congressional intent, language was included in the bill that would allow HSI and MSI funds to be combined with the SIP program instead of being redistributed to other programs.²

Background on Title V and eligibility

Title V of the Higher Education Act includes two programs that are federal, competitive discretionary grants for Hispanic-Serving Institutions to improve the quality of educational opportunities for the students they serve — acknowledging a high proportion of those enrolled are Hispanic and otherwise low-income students. Generally, grantees who successfully compete are awarded five-year individual development grants of up to $600,000 per year. While the funding is relatively small compared to an overall college/university budget, grantees invest in piloting new practices and innovations that can improve the quality of education for all students enrolled.

Institutions must apply to be eligible for Title III and V before they can apply for the competitive grant programs. To be designated eligible for the programs, institutions have to meet two basic criteria with thresholds set by ED: 1) a high enrollment of needy students, and, 2) low educational and general expenditures. For Title V, they must also meet a third criteria: meet the 25 percent or more undergraduate Hispanic FTE enrolled. Often when institutions state they have been “designated” an HSI, they are referring to being designated eligible for Title V. Once they are deemed eligible (as reflected in ED’s eligibility matrix), the institutions may compete for Title III or V funds.

In March 2026, ED released its notice for program eligibility with no mention of the eligibility criteria for the HSI or other MSI programs. This action has been interpreted as signaling the Administration’s intent to merge the funds for HSIs, other MSIs, and SIP into one. If this merging of funds is implemented, eligible HSIs will have to compete for limited capacity building funds amongst a much larger group of institutions. In FY25, over 1,100 institutions were eligible for Title III funding.³

How HSIs planned to use Title V federal investments

Targeted investments in HSIs are critical to expanding pathways into high-demand, high-wage fields because of the institutions’ low educational and general expenditures combined with their disproportionate enrollment of low-income, first-generation and Hispanic students. With limited access to information, networks, and career-aligned experiences, these students benefit from institutional efforts to modernize technology, strengthen teaching and support systems, and link education to workforce opportunities.

Excelencia in Education analyzed FY24 Title V Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions (DHSI) program abstracts from funded institutions that were impacted by the Fall 2025 redistribution. This cohort of Title V grantees invested in piloting efforts in key areas of community and society need, including the following:

• Strengthening the healthcare workforce pipeline by expanding capacity in health programs through updated labs, equipment, and clinical training, while providing academic and mentoring support to improve completion of healthcare degrees.
• Modernizing learning infrastructure and academic programs by upgrading facilities, technology, including the integration of AI and other digital tools, and developing curricula aligned with workforce and industry needs.
• Strengthening faculty development and student-centered support systems by providing professional development, coaching, and advising models that strengthen persistence and completion.
• Linking students to workforce opportunities by building employer partnerships that provide internships, research opportunities, and career-aligned learning experiences.

For example, Miami Dade College’s Medical Campus was using federal HSI funding to ensure hospitals and clinics can hire well-prepared nurses, technicians, and other health professionals. To do so, the campus was modernizing labs, upgrading equipment, and training faculty so graduates would be ready as trained healthcare workers entering a region where demand is high. Canceling Title V support in the beginning of a five-year planned investment creates challenges for the institution to identify other sources of funding to continue this work or delay facility upgrades and limit the number of trained healthcare workers — directly impacting the access to opportunities for students, and the talent for the workforce in the local economy and society.

States affected by 2025 Title V cancellation and funding redistribution

Institutions in California, Texas, and Puerto Rico faced the largest funding shortfalls (ranging between estimates of $11 million and $46 million) and the highest number of institutions at risk (20, 7, and 5 institutions, respectively) because of the cancellation of Title V funding in FY25 and the anticipated lack of support for the remainder of the approved comprehensive development plans to increase access to a quality education and serve community needs.

Consider the totals below.

Source: Excelencia in Education’s analysis of the U.S. Department of Education, Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions Program FY 2024 Fund Down the Slate New Award Abstracts. *Refers to the four out of five years of funding that institutions successfully competed for and are not receiving.

Given the need for many states to prioritize making college more affordable and increasing degree completion and outcomes, it will be challenging for states to step in and replace this level of federal support for institutional capacity building to meet the needs of the community.

From investment to sustaining impact: How federal funding has strengthened institutions

Moving from piloting and innovating new efforts and strategies to improve access to a quality education for today’s students, to institutionalizing what is working to serve more students and transform the institution to better serve their students define the critical federal investment in building institutional capacity for institutions with low educational and general expenses and a high enrollment of needy students. Excelencia collected and curated institutional examples and narratives to highlight the significant impact of federal funding and how institutions have sustained the work that began with Title V investments. The examples from some of what Excelencia has collected demonstrate what is possible when institutions are able to compete for, secure, and fully implement investments that enhance capacity and quality.

“…federal investment can catalyze long-term change — transforming one-time grant-funded events into sustainable, community-rooted practices that improve the quality of education and expand opportunity for all students.” — HSI practitioner

Without federal support through Title V funds, institutions shared they would not have had the opportunity to make lasting investments in the following areas:

• Embedding career exploration into core coursework: Institutions are integrating career development seminars into core curriculum and strengthening this support with designated, industry-diverse career mentors.
• Leveraging AI for financial education: Institutions are using AI to increase financial literacy, setting students up for long-term financial wellness.
• Strengthening industry partnerships: Institutions are facilitating industry partnerships to support students pursuing degrees in STEM, including aviation and aerospace sciences.
• Elevating high-impact research opportunities: Institutions are providing research opportunities alongside academic support with structured faculty engagement and student stipends.
• Implementing evidence-based course redesign: Institutions are shifting from deficit-based models to asset-based, culturally responsive approaches to teaching and student support, including through targeted support in high-risk online courses and course redesign.

For example, with Title V support, Texas A&M Corpus Christi partnered with iGrad, an interactive AI financial wellness platform, to support financial literacy for faculty, staff, students, and parents. While the effort started with a pilot group, the platform now serves the wider college community and educates students about student loan debt and teaches them how to manage their finances not only while in college, but for their career and lifetime beyond.

Continuing the federal role

Federal higher education policy has a deep history of supporting institutions that expand opportunity — especially those with limited resources serving high-need students. The HSI capacity-building framework is consistent with that approach: invest in the institutional conditions that improve completion and post-completion success. Excelencia’s research on HSI grant participation underscores that federal HSI grant programs have functioned as a “significant mechanism” for institutions to increase capacity to serve Latino and all, students, even as competition has increased.

For more information on Excelencia’s advocacy efforts to support Hispanic-Serving Institutions, please visit A Call to Action: Supporting Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs).

Sources:

1. Excelencia in Education’s analysis of the U.S. Department of Education, Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions Program FY 2024 Fund Down the Slate New Award Abstracts.
2. U.S. Department of Education. “Title III Part A Programs — Strengthening Institutions.” U.S. Department of Education.
3. U.S. Department of Education. “Eligibility Designations for Higher Education Programs for FY2026.” U.S. Department of Education.