A Lens into the Disinvestment of Hispanic Serving Institutions
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jacinda Nembhard | Jacinda.Nembhard@gse.rutgers.edu | 848-932-0774
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J., July 8, 2026 - A new report addresses the U.S. Department of Education’s (ED) cancellation of discretionary grant programs (Title III and Title V) for Minority Serving Institutions in Fall 2025. Authors Rebecca Perdomo, Melissa Salazar, and Stephanie Aguilar-Smith explore the impact of this decision on Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) that lost a total of $507.9 million in grants and its overall effect on the students they serve.
ED justified their decision by denouncing these programs as racially discriminatory and exclusionary, despite evidence that Title III and Title V grants strengthen HSIs’ institutional capacities and increase educational access and academic opportunities for students from all backgrounds. This decision comes after decades of bipartisan congressional support on both sides, recognizing that HSIs (and MSIs generally) are underfunded and crucial in broadening access to higher education.
“We knew the on-the-ground effects of the grant terminations were immediate and immense given the anecdotal evidence that was piling up within the HSI community, but this study allowed us to systematically document those impacts. In doing so, our findings revealed the nuanced ways these terminations affected people, programs, and institutions,” said Rebecca Perdomo, Senior Research Associate at Rutgers CMSI. “We hope this report leaves readers with a deeper understanding of how HSIs were harmed by these grant cancellations and that the recommendations help guide the decision-makers who will choose what happens next.”
HSIs are well-recognized for helping students land positions in areas such as nursing, teaching, business, and pre-graduate school programs. They also demonstrate outcomes comparable to institutions that are better-resourced in terms of their graduates’ economic mobility. For these reasons, grants to HSIs are a high-value investment in expanding access and opportunity to students from a wide range of backgrounds nationwide.
“This report features the voice of people who implemented programs at HSIs, who – before the cuts – were making innovative and important changes to their institutions that improved student graduation and retention and helped students get well paying jobs,” said Melissa Salazar, Founder and CEO of ESCALA Educational Services Inc. “Their voices and experiences with the grant cuts mid cycle deserve to be heard and centered in the discussion about what comes next for HSIs.”
The report offers recommendations to public policy officials on how to improve policy processes, reduce harm, and better support institutions of higher education and the students they serve.
“Policy choices carry consequences. As the report shows, this one harmed not only institutions but the individuals and communities they serve,” said Stephanie Aguilar-Smith, Assistant Professor at the Louise McBee Institute of Higher Education (MIHE).
You can read the full report here.
