Current assessments of college value are incomplete and can even be misleading when they do not account for the unique economic conditions of students of color before, during, and after they leave college. Broader issues like structural racism cascade into inequities in college affordability but are often left out of national ranking systems and discussions on college value. TICAS’s Race and Economic Mobility (REM) metric offers a better gauge of potential economic outcomes to support its ongoing advocacy for equitable investments in both students of color and colleges serving the largest shares of racially marginalized students.
Our latest brief examines economic outcomes for students who complete their degrees at Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs). The analysis finds that graduates from HSIs have similar wages and earnings premiums to their peers at other institutions, despite decades of underinvestment from state and federal policymakers. However, borrowers from HSIs owe an average of 80% of their loan balance, while non-HSI borrowers owe just 69%.
This brief is the second in a three-part series about Race and Economic Mobility at Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs). Additional information about data and methodology for the briefs can be found in the technical documentation.
