A Critical Qualitative Study of Inequities in Hispanic-Serving Institutions’ Grant-Seeking Competitiveness

Hispanic-Serving Institutions’ (HSIs) diversification and Title V’s anemic funding present a ripe condition for inequity. Hence, I interviewed 29 institutional actors across 17 HSIs to understand how they view their competitiveness for these grants and sources of inequity of this program. I identified four themes, demonstrating that an HSI’s institutional capacity, (in)actions, knowledge, and leadership inform its competitiveness for Title V funding. The findings show that HSIs have unequal organizational conditions and reveal ways this program may (re)produce inequity among HSIs. Without increased Title V appropriations and policy modification, HSIs will vie for funding on increasingly unequal terms, resulting in greater inequity.