Higher education advocates in Latino communities say they are optimistic about a new federal effort to support hundreds of local colleges and universities.
Hispanic-serving institutions, or HSIs, which are not-for-profit schools with a full-time equivalent undergraduate student enrollment that is at least a quarter Hispanic, are vital to the goals of equality in educational and economic opportunities, according to the White House. That is the impetus behind President Joe Biden's recent executive order establishing an initiative to increase funding to HSIs and creating a board of advisors on HSIs.
With Hispanic people accounting for almost three-quarters of the nation's population gain , according to U.S. Census Bureau population estimates from 2022 to 2023, higher education leaders are urging the president to spread the word about the new initiative, given its potential to help Hispanic students catch up to peers from some other backgrounds.
"This is very important for the country to have this type of new development at the national level," said Antonio R. Flores, president and CEO of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, a nonprofit advocacy group.
"We know the implications of this are also enormous for the nation" because Latinos are a fast-growing demographic, "and this is reflected in higher education enrollment," said Flores, whose group hopes the White House will hold a formal ceremony in September to promote the HSI initiative.
