Framing a Typology of Hispanic-Serving Institutions

• In Event: Exploring Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) and Emerging HSIs: Institutional Characteristics, Student Experiences, and Future Directions

Abstract

Objectives/Purpose
As HSIs grow in number and importance, more understanding is needed of the similarities among and differences between these institutions. This session proposes a typology of these institutions according to their institutional and community context characteristics. This presentation will address the following research questions: What are the institutional and community context characteristics that differentiate among four-year HSIs? Accordingly, how can four-year HSIs be classified into a typology of institutions that is based on their own unique characteristics and differences?

Perspectives/Theoretical Framework
Building on prior research (Nuñez & Elizondo, 2012), we draw on Berger and Milem’s (2000) conceptual framework of institutional characteristics that affect student outcomes to distinguish among HSIs by the following characteristics: (a) structural demographic (e.g., location, control, size); (b) peer characteristics (e.g., percentage of Hispanic students, percentage of students); (c) and financial context characteristics (e.g., expenditure patterns and revenue sources). In addition, because most HSIs enroll students from local communities, we extend Berger and Milem’s framework to address another category: (d) local community context characteristics (e.g., local education level, unemployment rate).
Methods/Data Sources
The data source for this study is the U.S. Department of Education’s Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), supplemented with other data from the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU), Barron’s Profiles of American Colleges, the College Board, and the Census. Our analytical method, cluster analysis, organizes a large data set into smaller groups or sets according to similarities, patterns, or distances (Everitt, Landau, & Reese, 2001).
Preliminary Findings
Preliminary findings identify substantial variability between the 125 accredited, non-profit four-year HSIs in terms of structural demographics, peer characteristics, financial context characteristics, and local community context characteristics. For instance, the percentage of Hispanic students served at four-year HSIs was shown to range between 25 and 100 percent. Tremendous variance was also found in terms of institutional spending, with HSIs spending an average of 8,255 dollars per full-time student (standard deviation = $29,054 per student).
Scientific or Scholarly Significance
Because HSIs have such distinctive qualities, there are significant concerns that the commonly used Carnegie classification approach to categorizing higher education institutions does not adequately describe categories of HSIs (HACU, 2012). This study expands traditional notions of institutional classification to offer a typology that is based on student, institutional, and community characteristics that more accurately reflect HSIs’ unique institutional contexts. According, this typology will inform future research, policy, and practice concerning HSIs in ways that more accurately reflect the multidimensional nature of these institutions.

References available in full paper

Authors

• Anne-Marie Nunez, The University of Texas - San Antonio

• Gloria Crisp, The University of Texas - San Antonio

• Diane Elizondo, The University of Texas - San Antonio