Improving Titles III and V of the Higher Education Act to Better Serve Students of Color and Students From Low-Income Backgrounds - Executive Summary

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Callum

October 2024 executive summary examines how the Higher Education Act (HEA) Titles III and V support Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) and why updates are needed. It defines mission-based and enrollment-based MSI designations, noting MSIs’ large share of students of color and low-income attendees, including Pell Grant recipients and first-generation college students. Using interviews from 22 federally designated MSIs, it outlines eight practitioner-derived insights and highlights areas for policy revision.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages43

Reading Time1 h 48 min

AccessFree to download

Executive Summary

Introduction

Project Description

About HEA Titles III & V

Insights from MSI Interviewees

Policy Recommendations

Appendix

Endnotes

October 2024 Improving Titles III & V of the Higher Education Act to Better Serve Students of Color and Students From Low-Income Backgrounds Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY..............................................................................................................4 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................... 8 PROJECT DESCRIPTION ......................................................................................................... 14 ABOUT HEA TITLES III & V ...................................................................................................... 16 INSIGHTS FROM MSI INTERVIEWEES .................................................................................... 20 POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................................................................ 32 APPENDIX................................................................................................................................ 38 ENDNOTES .............................................................................................................................. 40 OCTOBER 2024 • EDTRUST 3 Executive Summary Improving Titles III and V of the Higher Education Act to Better Serve Students of Color and Students From Low-Income Backgrounds BY: Jessie Hernandez-Reyes , Senior Higher Education Policy Analyst at EdTrust, Dr. Kayla C. Elliott , Managing Director at Baker, Butler, Black, and Anna Byon, Director of National Policy at Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC) THE HIGHER EDUCATION ACT (HEA) INCLUDES TWO TITLES, TITLES III AND V, THAT DIRECT THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO PROVIDE FEDERAL FUNDING FOR POSTSECONDARY INSTITUTIONS THAT APPLY AND RECEIVE FEDERAL DESIGNATION AS MINORITY-SERVING INSTITUTIONS (MSIS) . There are seven MSI designations: Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), American Indian Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), and Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions (ANNHSIs), Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), Predominantly Black Institutions (PBIs), and Native American-Serving Nontribal Institutions (NASNTIs) . HBCUs and TCCUs were founded with a unique mission to educate Black students amid the enslavement and segregation of Black Americans, and TCCUs were founded and chartered by tribal nations for the self-determination of Indigenous communities. Because HBCUs and TCCUs were founded specifically to provide higher education opportunities to Black and Indigenous students, respectively, they are considered mission-based MSIs. Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-serving institutions (ANNHSIs), Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-serving institutions (AANAPISIs), predominantly Black institutions (PBIs), and Native American-serving nontribal institutions (NASNTIs) are considered “enrollment-based” MSIs, because their federal designation as MSIs is based on the percentage of students of color they enroll at the undergraduate level. Currently, 1 in 5 higher education institutions are designated as minority-serving institutions (MSIs) .1 Collectively, these institutions enroll more than 25% of all undergraduate students in the entire country,2 and half of all undergraduate students of color in the U.S.3 Many of these students come from low-income backgrounds and are Pell Grant recipients,4 and nearly half of all MSI students are the first in their families to attend college.5 Despite the growing enrollment of students of color at postsecondary institutions, the subsequent rise of higher education institutions meeting enrollment thresholds for MSI designations, the disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on students of color and the institutions that ser

FAQs

What are HEA Titles III and V intended to do for Minority-Serving Institutions?

They direct the U.S. Department of Education to provide federal funding to postsecondary institutions that apply for and receive federal designation as Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs).

How does the report distinguish between mission-based and enrollment-based MSI designations?

HBCUs and TCCUs are described as mission-based because they were founded to educate Black and Indigenous students, respectively. Other designations are described as enrollment-based because MSI status depends on the percentage of students of color enrolled at the undergraduate level.

Why does the report argue that Titles III and V should be updated?

It points to the fact that Titles III and V have not been revised since their inception despite increasing enrollment of students of color, the expansion of institutions meeting MSI thresholds, and COVID-19’s disproportionate impacts on students and the institutions that serve them.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Callum