{"id":62361,"date":"2021-04-01T11:53:06","date_gmt":"2021-04-01T18:53:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/?p=62361"},"modified":"2021-04-06T14:14:48","modified_gmt":"2021-04-06T21:14:48","slug":"hispanic-serving-institute","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/hispanic-serving-institute\/","title":{"rendered":"NAU achieves status of Hispanic-Serving Institution"},"content":{"rendered":"

Northern Arizona University now meets U.S. Department of Education Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) criteria and has earned recognition from the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities<\/a>\u00a0(HACU) as an HSI.<\/p>\n

The designation as a Hispanic-Serving Institution gives NAU greater access to grants, including Title V, which provides funds to expand educational opportunities for, and improve the attainment of, Hispanic students. This designation denotes that a college or university\u2019s Hispanic enrollment makes up at least 25 percent of its total enrollment and is a recognition of the diversity of its student population.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an exciting development for NAU and one we have worked hard to achieve over the last few years,\u201d said NAU President Rita Cheng<\/strong>. \u201cThe\u00a0HSI\u00a0recognition underscores our commitment to underrepresented populations and providing increasing levels of access to these students. We are proud of attaining this distinction, as it reflects positively on our staff and faculty and institution overall.\u201d<\/p>\n

NAU\u2019s population has strong rates of diversity (overall 39 percent) and first-generation (46 percent), and these designations allow the university to receive the support to serve the needs of all students. Latinos make up nearly 30 percent of Arizona\u2019s population, and NAU is working to not just enroll Hispanic students but also to offer support and celebrate students\u2019 degree completions and success after graduation.<\/p>\n

NAU-Yuma, which has a student body that is 79 percent Hispanic, has been an HSI since 2007 and has received Title V funds to support students since receiving the designation. NAU has made strong gains among Hispanic\u00a0students in pursuit\u00a0of\u00a0a higher education degree, including these highlights:<\/p>\n