Issue Briefs

About

The Title III-Part A Strengthening Institutions Program serves low-resourced institutions with a high percentage of low-income students. This part of the HEA also provides for grants to institutions with specific minority enrollment populations, which include Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions; Predominantly Black Institutions; Native American-Serving, Nontribal Institutions; Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions. These are referred to as “Minority-Serving Institutions.”

The Title III-Part B Strengthening Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Programs serve eligible institutions created before 1964 and federally recognized by 1986.

The Title V Developing Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) serve institutions with FTE enrollment of at least 25 percent Hispanic students.

Eligible institutions are able to use the federal funding they receive to provide access and a quality education to low-income and minority students through a number of uses of funds such as: (1) the purchase, rental, or lease of scientific or laboratory equipment for educational purposes; (2) construction, maintenance, renovation, and improvement in classrooms, libraries, laboratories, and other instructional facilities; and (3) the development and improvement of academic programs.

NAICU advocates for increased funding of the Titles III and V programs in annual appropriations and monitors legislative and administrative action to ensure private nonprofit colleges remain equitably eligible for these investments.

Recent Developments

In the final weeks of FY 2025, the Trump Administration provided a one-time increase in funding for HBCUs and Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities by redirecting funding away from HSIs, other minority-serving institutions, International Education, and Teacher Quality Partnership Grants. This redistribution of funds upended multi-year grants to institutions for programs that ultimately help students pursue degrees. The administration’s justification for this unprecedented reallocation of funds was that the programs that were cut do not address the president’s priorities. 

For FY 2026 funding, Congress addressed the administration’s action by rejecting additional proposed eliminations for minority-serving institutions and instead wrote funding into the legislative language of the appropriations bill to ensure continued funding for the programs.

In the current FY 2027 funding process, the administration again proposed funding for HBCUs and TCCUs only, and eliminating funding for all other MSI programs. In contrast, the House funding bill maintains funding for all strengthening institutions programs. As of the August recess, the Senate bill had not been released.