• Introduction
• Enrollment
• Degrees
• Faculty and Staff
• Salaries
• Summary
• Reference

Economic realities today place considerable pressure on American youth to pursue postsecondary education. A high school diploma no longer guarantees high-paying employment, and the labor market is such that an individual's chances for economic success can be improved by obtaining postsecondary degrees.¹ As a result, demand for postsecondary education has grown in the past decade, as is evidenced by the fact that many Americans are enrolling in colleges and universities in greater numbers than ever before. This is especially true for the Hispanic population, which is experiencing rapid growth. Hispanic Americans' enrollment in colleges and universities increased by 68 percent in just 9 years—from about 782,000 in 1990 to 1,317,000 in 1999.²

As Hispanic enrollment grows, Hispanic serving institutions (HSIs) play an increasingly important role in providing Hispanic Americans with access to college education. HSIs, for the purposes of this report, are degree-granting institutions where at least 25 percent of full-time-equivalent undergraduates who are U.S. citizens or resident aliens are Hispanic. This report, the first from the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) to focus exclusively on HSIs, tracks 335 Title IV³ degree-granting institutions that met the 25 percent Hispanic enrollment criterion in 1999. The HSIs on this list include public, private not-for-profit, and private for-profit institutions in the United States and Puerto Rico. This report provides a statistical overview of the growth in HSI enrollment and degrees during the 1990s. It also presents an overview of HSI staff in 1999 and salary changes from the middle to the end of the decade.

It is important to note that the institutions tracked in this report do not comprise an official list of institutions eligible for federal funding under the Title V Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions Program. To be eligible for this program, an institution must meet additional criteria found in Title V of the Higher Education Act (HEA) of 1965, as amended.⁴ In particular, institutions must assure that at least 50 percent of their Hispanic students are low-income individuals. Furthermore, institutions must be not-for-profit.⁵ Other qualification criteria for the program exist as well, and eligibility is contingent on the submission of an application.

The purpose of this report, therefore, is not to describe an official list of HSIs, but instead to provide a policy-relevant picture of current trends in college education for Hispanics. The broader definition of HSIs used in this report brings into focus a set of institutions that enrolled 45 percent of all Hispanic college students in the United States in 1999.

The enrollment data used to identify this report's set of HSIs are from the 1999 Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, "Fall Enrollment Survey" (IPEDS-EF:99). In the IPEDS survey system, data on race/ethnicity are collected for U.S. citizens and resident aliens only. Nonresident aliens, regardless of race, are reported as a separate group. For this report, institutions were selected as HSIs based on the percentage of students who were Hispanic after nonresident aliens were excluded from the total number of enrolled students in each institution. However, to provide a complete picture of the proportion of the entire student body that was Hispanic, the percentages presented in this report include the nonresident aliens in the total number of students. (Data on the percentages of U.S. citizens and resident aliens enrolled in HSIs who were Hispanic can be found in the appendix to the report.)

This report tracks the same set of 335 institutions (276 in the United States and 59 in Puerto Rico) between 1990–91 and 1999–2000. It does not identify the varying number of institutions that met the definition of HSIs in each year. If the 25 percent enrollment criterion were applied in a different year, a different number of institutions might qualify. For instance, if the criterion had been applied to 1990 data, 111 institutions in the United States and 53 institutions in Puerto Rico would have been designated as Hispanic serving institutions.⁶ By tracking a single set of 335 institutions from 1990–91 to 1999–2000, this report presents a tabular illustration of the role of HSIs in America's postsecondary education system.

The data presented in this report provide a statistical overview of the work of HSIs with students of Hispanic origin as well as with students from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds. In addition, the institution- and state-level statistics in the complete report can assist HSIs in comparing their own experiences with those of other HSIs throughout the country and within their own states.

Enrollment in HSIs in the United States grew rapidly between 1990 and 1999. During this period, the number of students enrolled increased by 14 percent, exceeding the 7 percent growth for all institutions. As a result, the proportion of all U.S. college and university students who were enrolled in HSIs grew during the decade, from 9 percent in 1990 to 10 percent in 1999. In Puerto Rico, the number of students enrolled at HSIs grew as well, increasing by 11 percent from 1990 to 1999.

The number of women enrolled in HSIs in the United States grew 18 percent between 1990 and 1999, compared with a 9 percent growth among men. At all institutions in the United States, the number of women grew at a faster rate than the number of men as well (10 percent vs. 3 percent growth between 1990 and 1999). In 1999, women accounted for 58 percent of students at HSIs in the United States and 56 percent of students at all institutions in the United States.

The growth in enrollment at HSIs in the United States also varied by race/ethnicity. In fact, the growth was almost entirely a product of a surge in enrollment of minority students. Between 1990 and 1999, the number of minority students enrolled in HSIs increased by 49 percent—a rate comparable to the 48 percent increase for all institutions. Over the same period, White enrollment in HSIs declined by 20 percent, compared with only a 4 percent decline in all institutions. As a result of these differences in growth trends, by 1999, minorities outnumbered Whites in HSIs (64 percent vs. 34 percent). In 1990, by contrast, White and minority students were represented in almost equal proportions. Nonresident aliens accounted for 3 percent of students at HSIs in 1990 and 2 percent of students at HSIs in 1999.

Among minorities, the number of Hispanic students enrolled in HSIs in the United States grew faster than the number of students of any other race or ethnicity (figure 1). From 1990 to 1999, the number of Hispanic students grew from 359,000 to 588,000. This growth raised the proportion of Hispanic students to 42 percent and made them the largest racial or ethnic group at these institutions. The number of students who were Blacks, Asians or Pacific Islanders, or American Indians or Alaska Natives also grew during the decade, but these increases were smaller.

Despite the 64 percent growth in Hispanic enrollment in HSIs from 1990 to 1999, the percentage of all Hispanic students enrolled in HSIs actually declined slightly, from 46 percent to 45 percent. This small decline can be attributed to the fact that Hispanic enrollment in non-HSIs grew even faster than Hispanic enrollment in HSIs.

A relatively large proportion of the growth in enrollment between 1990 and 1999 at HSIs in the United States occurred at private institutions. Although the total number of students enrolled in private HSIs in 1999 was far smaller than the number enrolled in their public counterparts (153,000 in private HSIs vs. 1,246,000 in public HSIs), enrollment in private HSIs rose considerably over the decade, with the enrollment growth substantially exceeding the growth in public institutions. In both 2-year and 4-year private HSIs, Hispanic enrollment more than doubled between 1990 and 1999.

Changes in the racial and ethnic representations in enrollment at HSIs occurred at the undergraduate, graduate, and first-professional levels, to varying degrees. At all three levels, the shift was an increase in minority enrollment, particularly Hispanic enrollment (figure 2).

Overall enrollment in HSIs at the graduate level grew faster than both undergraduate and first-professional enrollment, increasing 24 percent, from 76,000 in 1990 to 95,000 in 1999. This increase in the number of graduate students was due primarily to increasing minority enrollment in HSIs, particularly that of Hispanic students, which more than doubled from 1990 to 1999. The increase can also be partially attributed to a 56 percent increase in the number of nonresident aliens.

Undergraduate enrollment in HSIs in the United States fluctuated more throughout the decade than did graduate enrollment. By 1999, however, the number of undergraduate students had increased substantially, rising from 1,143,000 in 1990 to 1,297,000 in 1999. The slower pace of undergraduate growth compared with graduate growth is in part due to a substantial drop in White undergraduate enrollment in HSIs, which declined 22 percent from 1990 to 1999 (whereas White graduate student enrollment dropped only 5 percent during the same period).

Figure 1. Total fall enrollment in Hispanic serving institutions in the United States, by race/ethnicity: 1990–99

Figure 2. Percentage distribution of enrollment in Hispanic serving institutions in the United States, by level and race/ethnicity: 1990 and 1999

The number of degrees awarded by HSIs in the United States grew by 36 percent between 1991–92 and 1999–2000. In contrast, the number of degrees conferred by all institutions in the United States grew by 13 percent between 1991–92 and 1999–2000. The increase in degree recipients at HSIs resulted in an increase in the share of all degrees in the United States that were conferred at HSIs, from 5 percent in 1991–92 to 6 percent in 1999–2000. The number of degrees awarded by HSIs in Puerto Rico also increased, by 31 percent between 1991–92 and 1999–2000.

At each degree level, the number of minorities receiving degrees at HSIs in the United States grew more than the number of Whites. Consequently, the total number of degree recipients at HSIs who were minorities grew by 87 percent between 1991–92 and 1999–2000, while the number of White degree recipients declined by 4 percent. The number of Hispanic degree recipients grew by 95 percent, more than the increase in the number of recipients from any other racial or ethnic group.

Associate's degrees accounted for 46 percent of the 149,028 degrees awarded by HSIs in the United States in 1999–2000. The number of associate's degrees awarded by HSIs in the United States between 1991–92 and 1999–2000 rose 43 percent, compared with a growth in the number awarded by all U.S. degree-granting institutions of only 12 percent. In Puerto Rico, the number of associate's degrees awarded by HSIs grew 29 percent.

Among Hispanics who were awarded associate's degrees in the United States in 1999–2000, 53 percent earned them at HSIs. By 1999–2000, 40 percent of all associate's degrees conferred by HSIs in the United States were earned by Hispanics, making them the most represented racial or ethnic recipient group (figure 3). Between 1991–92 and 1999–2000, the number of associate's degrees awarded by HSIs to Hispanics increased 97 percent, whereas the number awarded to Whites decreased 2 percent. This pattern was similar to that for all institutions: the number of associate's degrees awarded to Whites remained rather stable, while the number for Hispanics increased by 89 percent. The number of associate's degrees awarded by HSIs to non-Hispanic minorities grew substantially as well: degrees awarded to Blacks, Asians or Pacific Islanders, and American Indians or Alaska Natives grew by 59 percent, 109 percent, and 99 percent, respectively, between 1991–92 and 1999–2000.

Bachelor's degrees accounted for 39 percent of all degrees awarded by HSIs in the United States in 1999–2000. The number of bachelor's degrees awarded by HSIs rose 26 percent between 1991–92 and 1999–2000, while the number of bachelor's degrees conferred by all institutions in the United States rose 9 percent. In Puerto Rico, the number of bachelor's degrees conferred by HSIs rose 23 percent.

In 1991–92, Whites receiving a bachelor's degree at HSIs outnumbered Hispanics receiving a bachelor's degree at HSIs by more than 2 to 1. By 1999–2000, however, Whites and Hispanics earned bachelor's degrees at HSIs in almost equal proportions (figure 3). The number of Hispanics earning a bachelor's degree at HSIs grew by 87 percent between 1991–92 and 1999–2000. While this growth was the highest of any racial or ethnic group, non-Hispanic minority groups also showed an increase in the number of bachelor's degrees received. However, the number of Whites receiving bachelor's degrees at HSIs declined 12 percent, compared to only a 1 percent decline at all institutions.

Master's degrees accounted for 13 percent of all degrees awarded by HSIs in the United States in 1999–2000. The number of master's degrees conferred by HSIs in the United States rose 46 percent between 1991–92 and 1999–2000, compared with the national increase of 30 percent. In Puerto Rico, there was a 129 percent increase in master's degrees conferred by HSIs.

The master's degrees conferred by HSIs in the United States as a proportion of those conferred by all U.S. degree-granting institutions remained rather constant during this period, at 4 percent. Among Hispanics who received master's degrees in the United States in 1999–2000, 25 percent earned them at HSIs. In comparison, only 3 percent of Whites and 5 percent of non-Hispanic minorities who received their master's degrees in 1999–2000 received them from HSIs.

The number of Hispanic students earning master's degrees at HSIs grew 136 percent between 1991–92 and 1999–2000. This rate of growth was more than that experienced by any other racial or ethnic group at HSIs and exceeded the national Hispanic rate of growth of 102 percent. As a result of this growth, the proportion of master's degree recipients at HSIs who were Hispanic rose from 15 percent in 1991–92 to 24 percent in 1999–2000 (figure 3).

Figure 3. Percentage distribution of degrees conferred by Hispanic serving institutions in the United States, by level of degree and race/ ethnicity: 1991–92 and 1999–2000

Doctor's degrees accounted for less than 1 percent of all degrees awarded by HSIs in the United States in 1999–2000. The number of doctor's degrees awarded by HSIs rose 74 percent between 1991–92 and 1999–2000, while the number of doctor's degrees awarded by all institutions rose 10 percent. In Puerto Rico, the increase in doctor's degrees conferred by HSIs was 111 percent.

Despite the increase in doctor's degrees conferred by HSIs, in 1999–2000, only 2 percent of all doctor's degrees awarded in the United States were awarded by HSIs. Among the 731 recipients of doctor's degrees at HSIs in the United States in 1999–2000, the most popular fields of study were education and psychology, which accounted for 33 percent and 16 percent, respectively, of doctor's degrees conferred.

The number of Hispanics receiving their doctor's degrees from HSIs grew 85 percent between 1991–92 and 1999–2000. The percentage increase in the number of Whites receiving doctor's degrees from HSIs was also substantial (75 percent), while for Blacks and Asians or Pacific Islanders, the percentage increases were more than that for Hispanics. The proportion of recipients at HSIs who were Hispanic increased slightly (from 14 percent in 1991–92 to 15 percent in 1999–2000). The proportion who were White increased slightly as well (from 59 percent in 1991–92 to 60 percent in 1999–2000) (figure 3).

First-professional degrees accounted for 1 percent of all degrees awarded by HSIs in 1999–2000. The number of first-professional degrees awarded by HSIs in the United States rose 7 percent, slightly less than the 8 percent increase in first-professional degrees awarded by all institutions. In HSIs in Puerto Rico, the increase was 3 percent.

Law was by far the most conferred degree by HSIs in the United States in 1999–2000, accounting for 63 percent of first-professional degrees conferred. Medicine, the second most popular field of study, accounted for 24 percent.

The number of Hispanics receiving first-professional degrees at HSIs in the United States grew 47 percent during this period, compared with a 35 percent increase at all U.S. institutions. As a result, the proportion of all Hispanic first-professional degree recipients who earned their degree at an HSI grew from 9 percent in 1991–92 to 10 percent in 1999–2000. However, the number of Hispanic recipients of first-professional degrees at HSIs actually grew at a slower rate than the number of recipients from any other minority group between 1991–92 and 1999–2000. Despite this trend, Hispanics remained the second most represented group at HSIs (after Whites), accounting for 22 percent of all first-professional degree recipients (figure 3).

In 1999, Hispanic serving institutions employed 163,000 people, or 6 percent of all employees of U.S. degree-granting institutions. Instructional and research faculty accounted for 46 percent of HSI staff, while nonprofessional staff accounted for 34 percent. Nonfaculty professionals; executive, administrative, and managerial professionals; and instruction and research assistants accounted for 12 percent, 5 percent, and 4 percent, respectively, of HSI staff.

Among Hispanics who were employed by degree-granting institutions in 1999, 30 percent were employed by HSIs. (Among Hispanics employed by 2-year institutions, this proportion was even higher, with over half working at HSIs.) Hispanics accounted for 25 percent of all employees at HSIs, making them the second largest racial or ethnic group after Whites. At 2-year HSIs, Hispanics were slightly less represented, particularly at 2-year private schools, where 17 percent of employees were Hispanic. However, to put these percentages in context, only 5 percent of employees in all U.S. degree-granting institutions in 1999 were Hispanic. Non-Hispanic minorities made up similar proportions of employees at HSIs and at all institutions: 16 percent and 15 percent, respectively.

Nonprofessional staff employed at HSIs were more likely to be Hispanic than to be any other race or ethnicity (figure 4). In contrast, Whites accounted for the largest proportions of faculty; instruction and research assistants; nonfaculty professionals; and executive, administrative, and managerial staff at HSIs.

Figure 4. Percentage distribution of staff in Hispanic serving institutions in the United States, by primary occupation and race/ethnicity: 1999

In 1995–96, full-time instructional faculty members employed by HSIs earned an average of $53,929 per year (after adjustments for inflation), which was virtually the same as the national average (table A). Between 1995–96 and 1999–2000, average faculty salaries at all degree-granting institutions increased by 3 percent, slightly more than the 1 percent increase experienced at HSIs. As a result, by 1999–2000, HSI salaries for full-time instructional faculty members had fallen $1,236 below the national average.

HSIs in Puerto Rico experienced a larger increase in salaries during this period than did HSIs in the United States. Between 1995–96 and 1999–2000, salaries increased 25 percent (after adjustments for inflation), to $41,675 in 1999–2000.

In both 1995–96 and 1999–2000, salaries at private HSIs in the United States were lower than at public HSIs. The national trend was the opposite: salaries at private institutions tended to be higher than salaries at their public counterparts. However, it is important to note that the private HSIs include a relatively high proportion of private 2-year colleges, where salaries tend to be lower. In contrast, these lower salaries had little effect on the average salaries at all private degree-granting institutions, because private 2-year institutions comprise a very small proportion of the general body of degree-granting institutions.

Differences between salaries at HSIs in the United States and at all institutions varied by academic rank. Full professors at HSIs, who are paid more than any other academic rank, made 93 percent of the national average salary for full professors in 1999–2000. Associate professors and lecturers at HSIs made less than the averages at all institutions as well (97 percent and 96 percent, respectively, of the national averages). Assistant professors, instructors, and those with no academic rank, however, earned higher salaries at HSIs.

Table A. Average salaries of full-time instructional faculty on 9-month contracts at HSIs in the United States and at all institutions, in constant 1999–2000 dollars: 1995–96 and 1999–2000

This report presents a tabular illustration of changes among the 1999–2000 set of 335 HSIs in the United States and Puerto Rico and compares these changes to the national average for all institutions. The set of institutions used in this report was identified by NCES based on the enrollment selection criterion described above, using data from the 1999 IPEDS "Fall Enrollment Survey" (IPEDS-EF:99).

The data presented in this report show that the 1990s were a period of growth for HSIs. Overall enrollment grew 14 percent between 1990 and 1999, while Hispanic students enrolled at HSIs grew to 42 percent of all HSI-enrolled students by 1999. The number of degrees conferred by HSIs rose 36 percent between 1991–92 and 1999–2000, while the number of degrees awarded to Hispanics grew 95 percent. Given that overall enrollment in degree-granting institutions and the nation's Hispanic population are both projected to rise between 1999 and 2011 (Gerald and Hussar 2001), HSIs are likely to continue to play an important role in providing Hispanic Americans with access to postsecondary education.

¹This report provides data on associate's, bachelor's, master's, doctor's, and first-professional degrees.

² Enrollment in 1990 is based on total fall enrollment in all institutions in the United States that were accredited by an agency or association that was recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Enrollment in 1999 is based on total fall enrollment in all U.S. degree-granting institutions that were eligible to participate in Title IV federal financial aid programs. Enrollment in Puerto Rico is excluded in both years.

³ At Title IV institutions, eligible students can receive Pell Grants and other federal aid (e.g., Direct Loans) under Title IV programs. For an institution to participate in Title IV financial aid programs, it must offer a program of over 300 clock hours or 8 credit hours, have accreditation recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, have been in business for at least 2 years, and have signed a Program Participation Agreement (PPA) with the Department.

⁴ Identification of Hispanic serving institutions pursuant to Section 302(d)(1) of Public Law 102–325 (20 U.S.C. 1059c), most recently amended December 20, 1993, in Section 2(a)(7) of Public Law 103–208.

⁵Application of the Title V criteria would have had a considerable effect on the list of HSIs tracked in this report. For example, if for-profit institutions had been excluded from the list of HSIs in this report, 115 fewer institutions would have qualified as HSIs.

⁶Based on IPEDS-EF:90 data.

⁷First-professional degrees are awarded in the fields of dentistry (D.D.S. or D.M.D.), medicine (M.D.), optometry (O.D.), osteopathic medicine (D.O.), pharmacy (D.Phar.), podiatric medicine (D.P.M.), veterinary medicine (D.V.M.), chiropractic medicine (D.C. or D.C.M.), law (LL.B. or J.D.), and theological professions (M.Div. or M.H.L.).