Arizona State University (ASU) announced last week on Twitter that it has been named a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) by the U.S. Department of Education.
The education department defines an HSI as an institution of higher education that has an enrollment of Hispanic undergraduate FTE (full-time equivalent) students that is at least 25% of the overall student body.
In 2021, ASU’s Hispanic students made up 26% of the immersion (on-campus) undergraduate population, up from about 19% in fall 2011, ASU said in the press release.
ASU Online has also seen growth among Hispanic students, accounting for nearly 22% of total undergraduate online learners in fall 2021.
According to ASU, the recognition reflects the university’s efforts to more holistically serve its community through a range of financial and academic support programs for current students, K–12 outreach programs that strengthen the pipeline to college, and resources for the broader community.
“Arizona State University is wholly committed to enhancing access to quality learning for all students capable of performing college-level work,” ASU President Michael Crow said in a statement. “This meaningful designation recognizes our ongoing institutional efforts to support the success of students who reflect the demographic diversity of our state and, looking to the future, the growing Hispanic community that will play a major role in the economic advancement and competitiveness of our nation.”
ASU has more than 16,840 Hispanic undergraduate students among its fall 2021 immersion population, compared with about 10,400 in fall 2011. When all students — undergrad and graduate, immersion and online — are included, ASU’s Hispanic enrollment stands at more than 30,200 students, a big increase from the roughly 12,240 such students in fall 2011.
“While we are excited to see enrollment of Hispanic students continue to increase, we are even more proud that their retention and graduation rates continue to rise as well,” said Nancy Gonzales, executive vice president and university provost, in the same statement. “As a first-generation Latina graduate from ASU myself, it brings me great joy to see our community of talented and determined students thriving at ASU, and I look forward to the benefits that this university accomplishment will provide our academic community in the years to come.”
In addition to the support services for currently enrolled students, ASU offers resources for learners in the K–12 community to help with college preparedness. The WeGrad (formerly the American Dream Academy) and Hispanic Mother-Daughter programs are two such examples. Both offer bilingual programming, are geared toward middle and high school students and their families, and are designed to increase the number of first-generation Arizona students who are ready to enroll and succeed at ASU.
BREAKING NEWS: @ASU has been named a Hispanic-Serving Institution by the @usedgov, a major milestone in its commitment to increase the diversity of its student body. 🎓 https://t.co/3AJfiDPTRX
— Arizona State University (@ASU) June 9, 2022
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