Minority serving institutions
(MSIs) propel students up the economic ladder at two to three times the
rates of non-MSIs, according to a report from ACE. The report is a
first-of-its-kind analysis of MSIs using newly released federal data
that examines upward income mobility rates.
Despite receiving less financial resources
than their non-MSI counterparts, MSIs are doing more with less, shedding
an important light on the value of these institutions as a viable path
to greater prosperity for students, families, and their communities.
The report, Minority Serving Institutions as Engines of Upward Mobility, uses data from the Equality of Opportunity Project
(EOP) to show the role higher education has played in promoting upward
income mobility by analyzing the EOP’s student and parental federal tax
returns data from 1996-2014 and postsecondary education data from the
U.S. Department of Education.
“As a whole, our nation’s higher education
system is making a considerable contribution to improving the lives of
Americans on the lowest rung of the economic ladder. The data we present
make a strong case for increased investment in institutions,
particularly MSIs, that are meeting students where they are, and making
good on the value of higher education for individuals, families, and
communities,” said ACE President Ted Mitchell.
Among the key findings:
- One in five students enrolled at four-year Hispanic-Serving
Institutions (HSIs), and nearly one in four students enrolled at
four-year Predominantly Black Institutions (PBIs) and Historically Black
Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) were from families in the lowest
income quintile—more than three times that of non-MSIs.
- Two-year and four-year MSIs enrolled between 30 and 60 percent of first-generation college students.
- MSIs spend less per student than non-MSIs, but the mobility rate of
MSIs was higher than that of non-MSIs. Four-year HSIs, in particular,
had a mobility rate three times that of non-MSIs.
- When examining characteristics of MSIs and non-MSIs with low
expenditures ($25,000 per full-time equivalent student and less), the
mobility rate of all four-year MSIs was more than double that of
four-year non-MSIs, suggesting that MSIs continue to serve as engines of
mobility despite resource constraints.
“These findings fulfill a long held belief by
those close to these institutions that MSIs are poised to meet the
widespread demand for higher education by lower income students and
students of color. They already display a strong track record of
providing the upward income mobility that sustains the continued quest
for the American dream,” said the report’s lead author, Lorelle
Espinosa, ACE assistant vice president for policy research and strategy.
Click here to read the full report.