Public Policy and Hispanic-Serving Institutions: From Invention to Accountability

Abstract A fundamental premise for creating the Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) designation assumes that a critical mass of students motivates an institution to change how it operates to better serve these students to degree attainment. Increasing Hispanic degree attainment is in the national interest, and programs created by public policy to support HSIs have the potential to meet this interest. Public policy is increasingly focused on holding recipients of public funds accountable for stated outcomes. This essay considers current public policy questions and limits of current measures for understanding the educational attainment of Hispanics at HSIs. Keywords: Hispanic-Serving Institutionsaccountabilitypublic policyeducational attainment