Minority Serving Institutions
Minority serving institutions (MSIs) play a critical role in American society, providing access to postsecondary education for millions of students of color and low-income students. As America’s communities become more diverse, and the number of MSIs increases, it is imperative that the higher education field understands how MSIs serve the students they enroll.
This blog series sheds a light on enrollment and completion for students who attend MSIs and provides insight into how these institutions serve students in unique and exemplary ways.
Minority Serving Institutions and STEM: Acting Intentionally, Increasing Effectiveness
June 3, 2019
ACE Vice President Lorelle L. Espinosa, who co-chaired the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s committee on Minority Serving Institutions, writes that the most successful STEM programs are multidimensional and intentional, addressing the academic, financial, and social aspects of the student experience.
MSIs Are a Viable Path up the Economic Ladder
June 23, 2018
New data show that minority serving institutions are transforming the lives and income mobility of students of color and students from low-income backgrounds—in many cases, at rates exceeding that of non-MSIs. ACE’s Morgan Taylor looks at the numbers and what they mean.
Moving Away From Data Invisibility at Tribal Colleges and Universities
Nov. 20, 2017
The invisibility of Native American perspectives—those of Native students, researchers and their communities—continues to plague higher education, despite numerous calls for action from educational advocates across the country. Christine Nelson of the University of Denver considers what can be done to solve this problem.
AANAPISIs: Ensuring Success for Asian American and Pacific Islander Students
Oct. 30, 2017
Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions play a unique role in ensuring success for a complex, heterogeneous, and quickly growing population of students, according to Dina C. Maramba of Claremont Graduate University.
How Predominantly Black Institutions Help Low-Income, First-Generation African American Students Succeed
Oct. 16, 2017
Predominantly Black Institutions (PBIs) are not well understood in the higher education lexicon, despite serving a large number of students of color: namely, a large number of black or African American students. Robert T. Palmer and Jared Avery of Howard University look at the role of PBIs in facilitating access and success for low-income, first-generation students of color.
Historically Black Colleges and Universities: Fostering Familial Learning Environments for Student Success
Oct. 4, 2017
By embracing expansive ideas of success, HBCU leaders inspire their students to strive beyond degree completion and understand how collaboration, civic engagement, and entrepreneurship are essential attributes in a new knowledge economy and global citizenry. By Marybeth Gasman & Andrés Castro Samayoa
A Closer Look at Hispanic-Serving Institutions
Sept. 18, 2017
With the increase in Latinx students enrolling in postsecondary education and the subsequent increase in the number of HSIs, these institutions should remain at the top of all policy priority agendas, write Gina Garcia and Morgan Taylor.
Minority Serving Institutions Perform Better Than Federal Graduation Rates Suggest
July 26, 2017
A new report out from ACE’s Center for Policy Research and Strategy aims to provide a more complete picture of the contributions MSIs make to the higher education landscape and the communities in which they reside. The upshot: Ensuring the success of students of color requires further investment in the very institutions that educate them. ACE’s Morgan Taylor gives an overview of the results.