Hispanic Serving Institutions

As Hispanic student enrollment grows nationwide, New Jersey universities are taking strides to improve access and outcomes for this traditionally underserved class.

By Jim Pytell, Managing Editor On Sep 4, 2025

A Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) is a college or university in the United States where at least 25% of the undergraduate student population identifies as Hispanic or Latino. HSIs are formally recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and are eligible for specific federal funding and grants to support their Hispanic student populations.

The purpose of HSIs is to expand access to higher education and improve academic success for Hispanic and Latino students, particularly those in communities that have been historically underserved.

Analysis from the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) shows that in 2023-24, there were 615 institutions in the US that met the definition of an HSI compared to 600 in 2022-23. This increase of 15 institutions, or 2.5%, from the previous year highlights continued growth in Hispanic student enrollment at colleges and universities across the country.

In New Jersey, there are currently 23 institutions recognized as HSIs.

One of the most recent institutions in the state to gain HSI status is the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), which qualified as an HSI in February 2024, a year earlier than anticipated.

“This designation makes us eligible for federal grants that can expand educational opportunities for Hispanic and Latino students and improve their outcomes,” says NJIT President Teik C. Lim. “It also reaffirms our commitment to diversify our student body and deliver a holistic education that creates economic opportunity for all of our graduates, particularly first-generation students.”

David Jones, chief diversity officer, office of inclusive excellence, NJIT, tells New Jersey Business Magazine, “We were always committed to reaching our enrollment goals that would help us attain HSI designation, but we also recognize the most important part of this work is sustaining our commitment to not only enrolling Hispanic students, but ensuring they thrive. To be an institution where our Hispanic students thrive in and out of the classroom and graduate and not just enroll, is the ultimate goal.”

In this vein, Jones says that NJIT offers a variety of academic support programs including the Educational Opportunity Program, a state-funded initiative for students that aims to improve educational outcomes for populations traditionally underrepresented in STEM fields; the Transition, Engagement, Access & Mentorship (T.E.A.M.) program, which was developed to provide guidance and support for students with the overall goal of retention, persistence and graduation; and the Norma J. Clayton ’81 Learning Center, which offers all students vital academic assistance through tutoring, academic coaching, and workshops.

In 2021, NJIT launched its Hispanic and Latinx Leadership Council to support its goal of enrolling more Hispanic and Latino students. Today, the council continues to play a key role by engaging with the broader Hispanic community in the state.

“Part of the rationale for forming NJIT’s Hispanic Latinx Leadership Council was to deepen relationships with Hispanic and Latino alumni, businesses, and organizations as well as individual business leaders, alumni, community advocates, public servants and students,” Jones says. 

He adds that council members also mentor STEM-oriented Hispanic students in high schools and community colleges as an introduction to the university, and help secure gifts and grants to aid enrollment and engagement efforts.

Separately, Montclair State University, which became an HSI in 2016, now enrolls more Hispanic undergraduates than any other higher education institution in New Jersey, with 45% of last year’s freshman class identifying as Hispanic.

Jane Sanchez Swain, director of Degree Completion Programs at Montclair State University, says that the school has made significant strides in improving access to higher education, evidenced by U.S. News & World Report ranking Montclair State University No. 7 in the nation and No. 1 in New Jersey in social mobility in 2024.

The university also supports Hispanic students through programs like the Hispanic Student College Institute, which provides high school students with a head start on college, financial planning and career guidance, and offers workshops for parents offered in both English and Spanish. 

Montclair State was also named a Fulbright HSI Leader for 2024 by the U.S. Department of State, one of only 50 colleges and universities in the country to earn the federal designation.

“It’s equally important that educational outcomes and graduation rates reflect success,” Sanchez Swain adds. “There is still much work to be done. We need to listen, gather data on effective practices, identify gaps and continue advocating for the success of Hispanic students.”

The Future of Funding

Something to monitor moving forward is the broader crackdown by the Trump administration on DEI-related and federal grant programs that could have an impact on HSI funding streams in the future.

In fact, recently, the legality of HSI-specific grant programs has come under fire due to a pending lawsuit by The State of Tennessee and Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA), which is suing the U.S. Department of Education over allegations that the agency’s decades-long practice of designating federal grant funding for HSIs is unconstitutional.

The plaintiffs argue that the department’s eligibility requirements for HSI grants are discriminatory and undercut opportunities for all students, including those who are Hispanic and attend colleges that aren’t HSIs. 

Asserting that all colleges serve Hispanic students, Tennessee and SFFA are asking the federal court to strike down the HSI grant program’s ethnicity-based requirements and allow all institutions to apply for the grants “regardless of their ability to hit arbitrary ethnic targets.”

HSI grant proponents believe the lawsuit mischaracterizes the program and its role in the national higher education landscape, while also arguing that the program doesn’t explicitly require any resources to go to a specific population, but funds capacity-building efforts, like building new laboratories and facilities, that benefit all students at the institution.

“Hispanic-Serving Institutions educate a diverse cross-section of the American population, encompassing a wide range of ethnicities, income levels, and including a significant number of white American students,” says HACU President and CEO Antonio R. Flores. “To empower all students to reach their full potential and contribute meaningfully to the nation’s prosperity, it is essential that these institutions receive robust and sustained support from our nation’s leaders.”

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