Background of hispanic serving institutions
In the 1980s, leaders recognized a small set of institutions enrolled a large percentage of Latino students but had limited resources to educate these students. The classification of Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) by the Department of Education formally recognized these institutions for capacity-building and other support.
HSIs are defined as accredited, degree-granting public or private not-for-profit institutions of higher education with 25% or more total undergraduate Hispanic full-time equivalent student (FTE) enrollment.¹ Since 2013, HSIs have increased on average by 29 institutions per year.
SDSU Recent HSI Highlights and Accolades
Highlights
- SDSU Imperial Valley first earned its own designation as an HSI in 2004.
- In the Spring of 2012, SDSU was federally designated as a Hispanic-Serving Institution.
- SDSU is a proud AANAPISI (Asian American, Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution), HSI (Hispanic Serving Institution), and HSACU (Hispanic-Serving Agricultural Colleges and Universities) Institution.
- Latinx Students make up 35.5% of all students at SDSU (both main campus and Imperial Valley Campus).
- Latinx Faculty increased from 11% in 2021 to 20% of all faculty at SDSU in 2024; make up 13.6% of all tenure track faculty.
- Latinx Staff make up 36.1% of all staff at SDSU, while administrator staff (MPP) encompassed 20.4%.
Accolades
- December 2020, Initial Meeting of the SDSU HSI Campus Advisory Committee.
- In the Fall of 2021, SDSU received the “Seal of Excelencia”. The mission of Excelencia in Education is to accelerate Latino student success in higher education. Excelencia promotes institutional practices and educational policies that support Latino student achievement.
- In the Fall of 2021, SDSU was named a Fulbright HSI Leader by the U.S. Department of State, becoming one of only 35 Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) in the nation to receive the first-ever recognition.
- Fall of 2021, establishment of SDSU HSI Student Advisory Board.
- In 2016, SDSU earned the HSACU (Hispanic-Serving Agricultural Colleges and Universities) designation.
