Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs): 2024-25

Overview

Excelencia in Education has tracked the profile and growth of Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) since the founding of the organization (2004). Excelencia in Education develops and releases the list of institutions meeting the basic definition every year to inform the field looking to where Latinos enroll and how institutions serve.

HSIs were first defined in federal legislation in the 1992 Higher Education Act and received dedicated federal funding in 1995 to build capacity, improve academic quality, and expand access for Latino and other low-income students. HSIs are defined in federal legislation as accredited, degree-granting public or private nonprofit institutions of higher education with 25% or more total undergraduate Hispanic full-time equivalent (FTE) student enrollment.

There are now 631 HSIs located in 29 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. These institutions represent 21% of all colleges and universities but enroll 65% of Latino, and 32% of all undergraduates, and graduate 67% of Latino, and 32% of all undergraduates earning a degree in the U.S.