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Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

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Scrutinizing Grants at Hispanic-Serving Higher-Ed Schools

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Wednesday, December 15, 2021   

AUSTIN, Texas -- In the past decade, the number of Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs) at the college level has grown significantly, but some researchers wonder if federal money earmarked for these institutions is used as effectively as it could be.

Stephanie Aguilar-Smith, assistant professor of higher education at the University of North Texas, interviewed administrators, staff and faculty members from a dozen colleges designated as HSIs, including those with a high concentration of students eligible for Pell Grants, awarded for high financial need.

She found the schools pursue grant money for a variety of reasons, including some not meant to serve Hispanic students specifically.

"It didn't sound like there was as much intentionality about, 'Oh, this is how we can use this money to really serve LatinX students or Pell-eligible students,' which is what really makes them eligible for this funding," Aguilar-Smith explained.

To be an eligible HSI school, Hispanics must account for at least 25% of full-time undergraduate students. The Department of Education requires the schools report each year on how the money is being used, but there is no mandate for HSI grants to specifically benefit Latino students.

Aguilar-Smith found many institutions apply for HSI grants to help compensate for years of state-funding declines, enrollment issues and budget shortfalls, rather than to better serve Latino students. For example, many colleges use the funds to upgrade technology and renovate buildings.

At the same time, she said one in four public and private nonprofit colleges will meet the HSI threshold in the next few years.

"The population of HSIs is changing really, really quickly," Aguilar-Smith pointed out. "You know, 20 years ago, most would have been public community colleges, and now, more than half are four-year universities."

In 2017, the number of Hispanic students enrolled in college was more than three million, nearly double the number who attended college in 2000, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.


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