Newswise — With a record enrollment of Hispanic undergraduate students during fall 2017, Texas Tech University has met the enrollment criteria to be recognized as a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) by the U.S. Department of Education. This fall marks the first time the undergraduate student body has surpassed 30,000 students, with 30,759 undergraduates enrolled, 27.8 percent of which are Hispanic. Total enrollment for the university is 37,010, also a record.
In addition to other requirements, an institution designated as an HSI shows at least 25 percent of its full-time undergraduate students are Hispanic. With 2017 as the qualifying year for Texas Tech, the university is on track to that official designation beginning in 2019, resulting in access to new federal funding of more than $8 to 10 million that may be available after the application period that year.
“I appreciate that from a cultural perspective, but I also think this may be a first-generation idea of college, and as we start to get into the next generation, that’s starting to transition,” Logan said. “Additionally, while we have a significant population of people of Hispanic origin in this area, West Texas is slow in the growth of the total population of people in comparison to the metropolitan communities in the I-35 corridor.
“It means that the Hispanic students we are seeing at Texas Tech are a little more mobile and not as hesitant to move across the state to receive an education. The brand and the promise of a higher education experience at Texas Tech University is appealing to people from farther out in our state, and they are more willing to accept the challenge of moving from their home base to participate in higher education.”
Reaching HSI enrollment status means Texas Tech continues to make strides in diversifying the university, an important investment when it comes to higher education, Logan said. Diversification brings together different cultures, views, experiences and ideas to students from all backgrounds.
“The element of diversity is not limited to ethnicity,” Logan said. “In comingling different types of diversities, we enhance the opportunities to develop new knowledge and research, and we also give people a broader understanding of the world. I hope we continue to consistently appeal to more and more students who want to attend Texas Tech.”
This year, Texas Tech also yielded a record 16 National Merit Scholars, and a record-breaking number of Presidential Scholarships, more than doubling last year’s total.
“The success of students in all areas of study is evidence that our university is committed to creating innovative learners who will go on to impact their communities in Lubbock, across the state and beyond,” Schovanec said.
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