What is a Hispanic-Serving Institution?
Any time a two-year or four-year college or university—public or private—has an undergraduate student population made up of 25 percent or more Hispanic students, that institution is designated as an HSI, or Hispanic-Serving Institution by the U.S. Department of Education. HSI designation allows institutions to compete for federal grants that fund faculty professional development, curriculum development, and expand existing or establish new student services—to better serve first-generation, primarily Hispanic, students. According to the U.S. Department of Education, there are nearly 500 colleges and universities designated as HSIs in the United States and Puerto Rico, and about 300 considered emerging HSIs, meaning they’re close to reaching the 25 percent threshold. Now with over a quarter of its undergraduate student body identifying as Hispanic, or Latinx, Concordia Irvine has achieved HSI designation, which, in the end, serves all of Concordia's diverse student population.
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