It is unclear to what degree UTEP, EPCC and Texas Tech Health El Paso will be affected by the U.S. Department of Education’s recent decision to not disburse about $350 million to Minority-Serving Institutions because of perceived discrimination based on race.
The Department of Education announced Wednesday that it would end discretionary funding to some MSIs — U.S. colleges and universities that enroll significant percentages of racially minoritized undergraduate students — solely because the colleges or universities achieved certain racial or ethnic quotas. There are more than 700 federally designated MSIs that represent 14% of all degree-granting institutions. In fiscal year 2023, the U.S. government paid out about $1.3 billion to those institutions.
“Cutting this funding strips away critical investments in under-resourced and first-generation students and will destabilize colleges in 29 states,” said David Mendez, interim CEO of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities in a statement. “This is not just a budget cut. It is an attack on equity in higher education.”
Grant recipients should have been notified Sept. 10 about the status of their discretionary grant awards. New applicants will be told that no additional grant awards will be made in fiscal year 2025, which begins Oct. 1, the Department of Education said in a statement.
Spokespeople from TTHEP and the University of Texas at El Paso did not answer El Paso Matters questions about how the cuts could affect their programs, but sent statements that their institutions would monitor the situation to assess the possible effects.
Keri Moe, El Paso Community College’s associate vice president for External Relations Communications and Development, said the federal government’s decision could affect one of its programs. Fortunately, it is in its final year and the majority of its objectives have been met, she said.
Tejano Flex Learning, or TFL, a Competency-Based Education program, allows students to complete eight-week online courses faster if they are proficient with the subject and can pass the mandatory tests. In 2021, the Department of Education awarded this project $2.7 million over five years through its Title V, or Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions Program.
The TFL program, which launched in spring 2022, has been popular, said Myshie Pagel, dean of Education and Career and Technical Education at the Valle Verde Campus. She said 731 students have enrolled in these courses this fall compared with around 550 last year.
Pagel said TFL earned positive reviews from students in focus groups, and from Title V program managers during the four-year review. The assessors said that EPCC had used the grant money well.
Moe said that the college would work to overcome the completion of some federal grants and the uncertainty of others.
“Our Grants Management Office will continue to identify and apply for other funding sources to expand opportunities for programs and students, ensuring students have the support they need to stay on track and succeed,” Moe said.
It is unclear how much UTEP, EPCC and TTHEP have received in HSI-related grants from the federal government in the past and how much they expected to receive for the 2025-26 academic year.
Higher education institutions can become MSIs if they have a significant percentage of undergraduate students from a minority group, or if they have a historical mission to serve a particular minority population. Colleges or universities can be an HSI if at least 25% of their full-time undergraduates are Hispanic.
According to fall 2024 data found on institutional websites, UTEP, EPCC and TTHEP had Hispanic student enrollments of 85%, 82% and 40%, respectively. Together these institutions enrolled about 51,000 students during the 2024-25 academic year.
The federal government created the HSI designation in 1992 under the Higher Education Act. HSIs started to receive federal funds three years later.
There are 615 designated HSIs in the United States, including Puerto Rico. More than 100 of them are in Texas. The country’s HSIs enroll more than 5.6 million students, including about 65% of all Hispanic undergraduates, and almost a third of all U.S. undergraduates.
Mendez reminded the public that the funds granted to HSIs have always supported the general student population.
“These funds strengthen entire campuses, creating opportunities and resources that benefit all students, especially those pursuing STEM fields, as well as enhancing the communities where these colleges and universities are located,” Mendez said in a news release.
U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in her Sept. 10 announcement that her department would no longer award MSIs grants because they “discriminate by restricting eligibility to institutions that meet government-mandated racial quotas.”
The statement follows a decision in July by the U.S. Solicitor General that HSIs violate the equal-protection component of the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause. McMahon said in the news release that the department wants to work with Congress to “reenvision” how discretionary funds are spent to benefit institutions that serve underprepared or under-resourced students regardless of racial quota designation.
Other than HSIs, the directive affects grant programs that benefit Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-serving institutions, predominantly Black institutions, Asian American- and Native American Pacific Islander-serving institutions, and Native American-serving nontribal institutions, to name a few.
The Education Department stressed that Historically Black Colleges and Universities and tribal colleges may lose some discretionary grants but not others because of their historical missions as opposed to racial quotas.
Francisca Fajana, director of Racial Justice Strategy for LatinoJustice PRLDEF, a New York-based national civil rights organization, said in a statement that her organization and HACU will fight for HSIs to ensure that equity, investment and opportunity are not rolled back.
LatinoJustice filed a motion in July to represent the Education Department in the lawsuit initiated by the State of Tennessee and the Students for Fair Admissions after the U.S. Department of Justice decided it would not serve as defense counsel. Tennessee and its co-plaintiff believe HSIs are unconstitutional because they require higher education institutions to enroll a certain percentage of students from a racial or ethnic background.
“The Trump administration’s decision to eliminate funding for Hispanic-Serving Institutions and other institutions serving underrepresented populations is a devastating blow that will harm millions of students,” Fajana said.
While discretionary program funds for fiscal year 2025 will be reallocated, the Education Department will distribute about $132 million in mandatory funds appropriated by Congress that cannot be reprogrammed. Programs that will get those funds include those focused on developing HSI Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics and Articulation.
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