The Education Department will redistribute $350 million previously earmarked for Minority-Serving Institutions, affecting discretionary funding at hundreds of U.S. colleges and universities.
The move affects eight federally designated, discretionary grant programs that support institutions serving a set percentage of Black, Asian American, Hispanic, Native American and Pacific Islander students, according to a Sept. 10 news release from the department.
Unlike historically Black colleges and universities — which receive a federal designation — these schools are designated as Minority-Serving Institutions based on a minimum percentage threshold of minority students.
The Education Department said all minority-serving programs are unconstitutional. However, approximately $132 million in mandatory funds for four programs “cannot be reprogrammed on a statutory basis,” according to the department.
“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,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement.
Patricia McGuire, president of Trinity Washington University in the District of Columbia, told The Washington Post the rescinded funds will affect the entire institution. For example, the designations of a predominantly Black institution and a Hispanic-serving institution has helped Trinity invest in an advising system in its student success center and equipment for science and nursing labs.
Ms. McGuire told the Post that before the grants, about half of Trinity nursing students passed the licensing exam on the first try. Now, more than 90% do.
“Now I may have to find a way to replace hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding as hundreds of other colleges could be doing the same,” Ms. McGuire said.
