forbidden words: MSI
This is one of the terms you can’t say in the Trump Regime. See a comprehensive list at the Forbidden Words Project.
MSI
The MSI Isn’t a Monolith. Defining 6 Kinds of Minority-Serving Institutions
The term Minority-Serving institutions (MSI) is often used generically for all colleges and universities whose student bodies include a high percentage of a particular racial or ethnic group. This bundling of all MSIs together obscures significant variations on their mission, origins, and current context. It also inaccurately suggests that all the so-called “underrepresented” students enrolled in MSIs have similar needs and strengths or that all MSIs are similarly designed and oriented to serve them effectively.
Each type of MSI is defined by a mix of their historical origins and their eligibility for various forms of federal funding. As of 2016, there were over 700 MSIs under the definitions below, enrolling over five million undergraduate and graduate students. Another 300 may be counted soon as MSIs, as their enrollment demographics change.
Some MSIs are majority Black or Indigenous, and some are defined as an MSI when 10 percent of the student body is Asian American or Pacific Islander. Some MSIs, like tribal colleges and universities, have been designed with racial equity as part of their founding mission, but many others were founded as exclusively white colleges and have steadily enrolled more racially and ethnically minoritized students over time.
The “serving” part of the MSI label is also misleading. The definitions below rest on the number of racially and ethnically minoritized students who are enrolled, not on how effectively or how well the institution meets the needs of those students. As we’ve noted elsewhere, it’s not uncommon for colleges and universities to increase enrollment for minoritized students without necessarily increasing support for them.
Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU)
The Higher Education Act (HEA) of 1965 defines an HBCU as “any historically Black college or university that was established prior to 1964, whose principal mission was, and is, the education of Black Americans.”
Through institutions gaining or losing regional accreditation, the number of recognized HBCUs has changed over time, and in 2020, there were 101 recognized HBCUs in U.S. states and territories, including 52 public and 49 nonprofit institutions, and they conferred over 48,000 degrees. In other words, no new HBCUs were founded after 1964 under this definition. About 75 percent of students in HBCUs identify as Black.
Predominantly Black Institutions (PBI)
Sometimes people mistakenly characterize all predominantly Black institutions as HBCUs, but PBIs are a different set of colleges and universities. The reauthorization of HEA in 2008 extended funding opportunities to institutions other than HBCUs with undergraduate Black enrollment of at least 40 percent (among other criteria related to accreditation and the percentage of Pell-eligible students.) As of 2018, there were 104 PBIs in the U.S. Many PBIs are historically white institutions where the composition of the student body has changed over time.
Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCU)
TCUs are institutions chartered by an Indigenous tribe in the U.S. In 2021, there were 37 TCUs, with at least two more in development. They prioritize preserving Indigenous culture, language, lands, and sovereignty. They are often multi-campus institutions. Currently, they all offer associate’s degrees, 18 offer bachelor’s degrees, and five offer master’s degrees. TCUs serve over 160,000 students annually.
Native American-Serving Nontribal Institutions (NASNTI)
The reauthorization of HEA in 2008 extended funding opportunities to institutions other than TCUs with undergraduate enrollment of at least 10 percent American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN). Many are rural public state colleges and universities adjacent to tribal communities. In 2020, there were 37 NASNTIs enrolling over 78,000 undergraduates, 19 percent of whom were AI/AN students.
Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI)
The reauthorization of HEA in 2008 established HSIs as those with undergraduate enrollment of at least 25 percent Hispanic students. In 2019, there were 539 HSIs in 27 states, enrolling over 2.1 million Latino undergraduates, and there were another 352 that Excelencia in Education characterizes as emerging HSIs with growing Latino student bodies and nearing the HEA definition.
Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions (AANAPISI)
The reauthorization of HEA in 2008 established AANAPISIs as those with undergraduate enrollment of at least 10 percent Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander students. In 2016, there were 113 AANAPISIs in 15 states. The institutions enrolled 1.4 million students and awarded 235,700 degrees, with approximately 20 percent of those to Asian American or Pacific Islander students. AANAPISIs account for 22 percent of all associate’s and 21 percent of all bachelor’s degrees earned by this population.
Predominantly white institution (PWI)
PWI is an informal usage to describe most colleges and universities in the U.S. that were founded primarily or exclusively for white students and where the student body remains majority white. Under the definitions above, many MSIs are simultaneously PWIs. For example, many HSIs have a student body greater than 25 percent Latino and are also majority white.
Historically white institution (HWI)
Some colleges and universities that are described colloquially as PWIs in fact no longer have majority white student bodies. Institutions that were founded as mostly or exclusively white but where white students are now less than 50 percent of the student body might be better described as historically white institutions.
from — Cook, E., & McGuire, R. (2023, August 9). The MSI Isn’t a Monolith. Defining 6 Kinds of Minority-Serving Institutions. Every Learner Everywhere®. Retrieved May 18, 2026, from
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U.S. Department of Education Ends Funding to Racially Discriminatory Discretionary Grant Programs at Minority-Serving Institutions
Today, the U.S. Department of Education (the Department) announced that it will end discretionary funding to several Minority-Serving Institutions (MSI) grant programs that discriminate by conferring government benefits exclusively to institutions that meet racial or ethnic quotas. This action follows the U.S. Solicitor General’s determination in July that the Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) programs “violate the equal-protection component of the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause,” and that the Department of Justice would not defend them in ongoing litigation.
The Department agrees that the racial quotas in the HSI programs are unconstitutional. Due to similar issues with all MSI programs, the Department is using its statutory authority to reprogram discretionary funds to programs that do not present such concerns.
“Discrimination based upon race or ethnicity has no place in the United States. To further our commitment to ending discrimination in all forms across federally supported programs, the Department will no longer award Minority-Serving Institution grants that discriminate by restricting eligibility to institutions that meet government-mandated racial quotas,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. “Diversity is not merely the presence of a skin color. Stereotyping an individual based on immutable characteristics diminishes the full picture of that person’s life and contributions, including their character, resiliency, and merit. The Department looks forward to working with Congress to reenvision these programs to support institutions that serve underprepared or under-resourced students without relying on race quotas and will continue fighting to ensure that students are judged as individuals, not prejudged by their membership of a racial group.”
The discretionary grant programs that the Department will cease to fund will include both 2025 new awards and non-competing continuations, and the Department will reprogram funding from the following:
- Strengthening Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions (Title III Part A);
- Strengthening Predominantly Black Institutions (Title III Part A);
- Strengthening Asian American- and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions (Title III Part A);
- Strengthening Native American-Serving Nontribal Institutions (Title III Part A);
- Minority Science and Engineering Improvement (Title III Part E);
- Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions (Title V Part A); and
- Promoting Postbaccalaureate Opportunities for Hispanic Americans (Title V Part B).
Approximately $350 million in discretionary funds were expected to be allocated to support these programs in fiscal year 2025. These funds will be reprogrammed into programs that do not include discriminatory racial and ethnic quotas and that advance Administration priorities.
Background:
The Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, restricts institutional eligibility for certain discretionary and mandatory grant programs based upon racial and ethnic preferences and quotas in the student body. For instance:
- Eligibility for grants under the Minority Science and Engineering Improvement program requires maintaining a majority minority student body (i.e., a minimum of 50 percent);
- The Strengthening Predominantly Black Institutions program eligibility requires a minimum of 40 percent Black student enrollment;
- Eligibility for Developing Hispanic Serving Institutions, Promoting Postbaccalaureate Opportunities for Hispanic Americans, and Developing Hispanic Serving Institutions – Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics and Articulation Programs requires institutions to maintain student enrollment of at least 25 percent of Hispanic students; and
- Eligibility for Strengthening Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions, Strengthening Asian American- and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions, and Strengthening Native American-Serving Nontribal Institutions programs is tied to various quota levels, including 20 percent of Alaska Natives and 10 percent of Native Hawaiians, 10 percent Asian Americans or Native American Pacific Islanders, or 10 percent Native Americans.
Grant recipients will be notified today that existing discretionary awards will be non-continued, and applicants for new grants will be notified that the competitions will not make any new awards for fiscal year 2025. The Department looks forward to working with Congress to reenvision these programs to support underprepared or under-resourced students without relying on race and ethnic quotas.
While discretionary program funding for fiscal year 2025 will be reprogrammed to support other priorities, the Department will disperse approximately $132 million in mandatory funds appropriated by Congress that cannot be reprogrammed on a statutory basis. Programs receiving mandatory funds include:
- Strengthening Alaska Native- and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions (Title III Part F);
- Strengthening Predominantly Black Institutions (Title III Part F);
- Strengthening Asian American- and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions (Title III Part F);
- Strengthening Native American-Serving Nontribal Institutions (Title III Part F); and Developing HSI Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics and Articulation Programs (Title III Part F).
The Department continues to consider the underlying legal issues associated with the mandatory funding mechanism in these programs.
Contact
May 18, 2026
Salem, MA
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