The HACU Advocacy Center was created to increase awareness among policymakers about the impact of Hispanic-Serving Institutions* (HSIs), and the need for increased federal investments in these institutions in order to keep pace with the changing demographics in our communities.
HACU's Legislative Agenda for the First Session of the 116th Congress is designed to address the public policy priorities for Hispanic higher education as well as critical PK-20 pipeline issues. Hispanics suffer one of the lowest high school and the lowest college graduation rates of any major racial/ethnic demographic population group; in addition, on a per student basis, HSIs on average continue to receive only sixty-nine cents for every federal dollar to all degree-granting institutions.
HACU’s Legislative Agenda addresses federal Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 appropriations requests for a number of departments and agencies. To review the full agenda,visit: HACU's Legislative Agenda.
HSIs are at the forefront of efforts to increase educational access and success for the nation’s Hispanic citizens. Based on U.S. Department of Education’s most recent IPEDS data, there are 539 Hispanic-Serving Institutions in 25 states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. And, driven by demographic trends, the number of HSIs is rapidly growing.
HACU's Advocacy Center will focus on the following key issues:
* HSIs are defined in the Higher Education Act as not-for-profit institutions of higher learning with a full-time equivalent (FTE) undergraduate student enrollment that is at least 25 percent Hispanic.
