The U.S. Department of Education said it would no longer award discretionary grants to Hispanic-Serving Institutions and other minority-serving colleges, a decision that cuts funding opportunities Columbia College had expected to pursue.
In an announcement on Wednesday, Sept. 10, the department said it had concluded that the programs, which tie eligibility to an institution’s racial or ethnic composition, “violate the equal-protection component of the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause.” About $350 million in grants had been projected through the end of this month. Colleges that already received funding were told that their awards would not be renewed once they expire.
For Columbia, the announcement comes just two years after it qualified as a Hispanic-Serving Institution, a designation given to colleges where at least 25 percent of full-time undergraduates identify as Hispanic. In 2024, 27.6 percent of students identified as Hispanic at Columbia, according to the Office of Institutional Effectiveness.
Adilene Vega, a senior art history major and co-president of Latino Alliance, said the decision to withhold funding was “ridiculous.”
“It’s going to negatively affect a lot of students who are trying to pursue their careers, especially places like Columbia,” she said.
As an HSI, the college was eligible for the first time this year to apply for grant funding that could help develop and strengthen resources for Hispanic students at Columbia.
Senior Associate Provost Nathan Bakkum said in an email to the Chronicle that the college saw no indication that the Hispanic Serving Institution designation itself will be discontinued.
“Columbia College Chicago’s greatest strength and asset is our students — and the extraordinary breadth of experiences, backgrounds and perspectives that they bring to our community,” Bakkum said. “We celebrate that strength every day, and we will continue to make the college a welcoming and supportive home for our students regardless of governmental designations or opportunities.”
The announcement is a setback for colleges that have long depended on HSI programs to provide resources for historically underserved populations.
Sophomore English major Janessa Perez called the policy shift “unfortunate.”
“I am Hispanic, so as somebody who does struggle and somebody who has worked since I was 14, it’s really frustrating and sad that these resources are being taken away,” she said.
Perez said she is worried this will impact not only Columbia’s student body, but also those of other city institutions such as the University of Illinois Chicago or Roosevelt, both of which are Hispanic-serving institutions. “We get a lot of diverse students, we get a lot of students that come from all around the world,” she said. “This has a huge effect on them.”
This is not the first time the department has sought to limit race-conscious support programs. Earlier this year the Office for Civil Rights declared that race-based scholarships, financial aid, student programming and campus resources are illegal.
There are more than 600 colleges and universities in the U.S. and Puerto Rico that qualify as an HSI. Together, they enroll over 5.6 million students across the country, including two-thirds of all Latino undergraduates, according to the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities.
In Chicago alone, there were 18 colleges or universities recognized as Hispanic-serving for the 23-24 school year, including Columbia.
Perez said she would like to see students come together and stand against this policy change. “I would love to feel like there’s something we can do,” she said.
Delilah Luna del Castillo, a junior film major, said the policy change will be detrimental.
“I feel like it’s blatantly racist,” she said. “A lot of minority students can’t afford to go to college because of systems that weren’t set up for them, and these funds are meant to help students like that.”
Del Castillo was also concerned about the long-term effects of this decision. “It just feels like the ultimate goal that they’re pushing for is to stop minorities from getting a higher education.”
The department also will end discretionary funding of minority-serving institutions that strengthen support for Native Hawaiians, Asian American and Black students. It will still distribute about $132 million in funds this year.
The change does not impact Native tribal schools or historically Black colleges and universities because their grant funding is separate.
Vega said she hopes the school will continue to show support for the Hispanic community on campus. “Just because we’re not a reason that they’re getting funding from the government, that they don’t stop all the initiatives that they’ve been starting up,” she said.
She noted that last year at the Manifest Urban Arts Festival there was an event just for the Latino community. “I hope we can continue to do that, and that the administration continues to work with us to show that presence,” she said.
Bakkum said the college has an obligation to support and uplift all students, “which means seeing and understanding the traditions, heritage and identities that each member of our community brings to our campus and our classrooms.”
Regardless of any designation, “this is who we are and who we aspire to be,” he added.
Copy edited by Manuel Nocera
Resumen en español
En un comunicado emitido el miércoles 10 de septiembre, el Departamento de Educación de EE. UU. anunció que ya no otorgaría subvenciones discrecionales a Instituciones que Sirven a Hispanos ni a otras universidades que atienden a minorías, una decisión que recorta las oportunidades de financiamiento que Columbia College esperaba aprovechar.
El departamento concluyó que los programas, “violan el componente de igualdad de protección de la Cláusula del Debido Proceso de la Quinta Enmienda”. Se habían proyectado aproximadamente $350 millones en subvenciones hasta finales de este mes. Se informó a las universidades que ya recibían financiación que sus subvenciones no se renovarán una vez que expiren.
Para Columbia, el anuncio llega tan solo dos años después de que se calificara como Institución que Sirve a Hispanos, una designación otorgada a las universidades donde por lo menos el 25% de los estudiantes universitarios de tiempo completo se identifican como hispanos. En 2024, el 27,6% de los estudiantes de Columbia se identificaron como hispanos, según la Oficina de Efectividad Institucional.
El rector asociado sénior, Nathan Bakkum, declaró en un correo electrónico a La Crónica que la universidad no veía indicios de que la designación de Institución al Servicio de los Hispanos se descontinuará. Bakkum afirmó que la universidad tiene la obligación de apoyar y a todos los estudiantes.
El departamento también eliminará la financiación discrecional de las instituciones que atienden a minorías y que fortalecen el apoyo a los estudiantes nativos hawaianos, asiático-americanos y afroamericanos. Este año seguirá distribuyendo alrededor de $132 millones en fondos.
Resumen en español por Brandon Anaya
Resumen editado por Manuel Nocera
