$12.2 Million Awarded to 19 Hispanic-Serving Institutions to Expand Education Opportunities to Hispanic Students and Low-Income Individuals

The U.S. Department of Education announced today that 19 Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) will receive a total of $12.2 million to strengthen and expand educational opportunities for Hispanic students. The HSI program provides grants to make college more attainable for Hispanic students and allows institutions to enhance their academic offerings, program quality and institutional stability. The grants assist schools in furthering educational opportunities for students through faculty development, curriculum development, academic tutoring and mentoring, and other services.

“We know that Hispanics are the fastest growing ethnic group pursuing higher education, but we need to improve the graduation rate for Hispanic students and provide opportunities for them to achieve their higher education goals,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. “This grant program will help more Latino students have access to quality higher education, which is key to building a highly skilled workforce to compete in a global marketplace.”

A Hispanic-Serving Institution is defined as an eligible institution of higher education that has at least 25 percent Hispanic full-time equivalent (FTE) undergraduate enrollment at the end of the award year immediately preceding the date of the application.

More information about the Hispanic-Serving Institutions grant programs are available at: http://www2.ed.gov/programs/idueshsi/index.html.

A complete list of grantees follows: