For a college or university to be designated a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) by the U.S. Department of Education (DOE), at least 25% of full-time equivalent students enrolled must be Hispanic. These two-year and four-year institutions must also enroll a significant number of students who require needs-based financial aid. Institutions that receive HSI designation are then eligible to apply for various federal grants in support of their programming.
After years of developing student supports, three of the four institutions featured in this article recently received HSI designation and the fourth is moving toward designation.
Achieving HSI status
Larry Eby
Over the course of the past decade, the percentage of Hispanic students at GBC has doubled thanks to attendance at more than 30 college fairs a year targeted to Hispanic students, as well as connecting with guidance counselors at high schools with large numbers of Hispanic students. Additionally, Dr. Colleen Perry Keith, GBC’s president, approved funding to expand recruitment to students in Puerto Rico. The college has emerging HSI status and is on track to attain full HSI status in the near future.
“This is an important segment of the college-bound market and [GBC] continues to make inroads in successful recruitment of Hispanic students, especially with the expansion of the Goizueta Scholarship to now cover full tuition and in some cases room and board,” Eby said.
Dr. Justin Jernigan, dean of student success at Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC), said the plan to pursue HSI status, announced in 2022, was intentional. One of only two schools in the University System of Georgia with HSI status, GGC has consistently developed programming for Hispanic students over the past decade.
