On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Education announced the termination of several grant programs aimed at supporting universities with significant proportions of minority students, including those from Asian and Native Hawaiian backgrounds.
This newly adopted policy could have a severe financial impact on Hawaiʻi colleges, potentially costing them millions of dollars in federal funding.
The department expressed a shift in its stance, declaring that it now views federal grants based on racial or ethnic enrollment criteria as unconstitutional.
As a result, it has decided to withhold $350 million in grants that were previously budgeted for this fiscal year.
The department is urging Congress to consider a re-envisioning of these programs for the future.
In the current year, 13 colleges in Hawaiʻi, including all ten campuses of the University of Hawaiʻi (UH), qualified for these federal grants, though not all received funding.
The UH system has been a significant recipient of federal grants for minority-serving institutions in recent years, receiving as much as $44 million.
President Lynn Babington of Chaminade University stated that her institution stands to lose approximately $9.5 million in funding as a minority-serving institution.
This federal funding has been critical for various initiatives at Chaminade, including the establishment of its inaugural doctor of nursing practice program and providing stipends for student summer research.
While Babington noted that the university might cover some of the budget cuts, particularly for the nursing program, she emphasized the challenges posed by the loss of federal support.
Since 2004, Chaminade has qualified for funding as a Native Hawaiian-serving institution, and the reduction of federal grants complicates efforts to maintain affordable tuition and meet community demands.
“It’s very hard for a small institution with no state funding at all to remain affordable,” she remarked, indicating the potential need to scale back some initiatives.
The University of Hawaiʻi is currently assessing the extent of potential funding losses, according to Communications Director Dan Meisenzahl.
Nine of its ten campuses were expected to receive federal grants in the current year.
One of the affected programs was designed to increase Native Hawaiian student enrollment from Kauaʻi high schools to UH, with a budget of $2.6 million allocated from 2021 to 2026.
This initiative allowed students at Waimea High School to enroll in college courses at Kauaʻi Community College free of charge.
In addition, last year, UH West Oʻahu received a $1 million grant targeting Native Hawaiian students transitioning from community colleges to four-year degrees, addressing access to remote learning opportunities in partnership with Maui College and Kauaʻi Community College.
During the fall semester of 2024, around 30% of UH West Oʻahu’s student body identified as Native Hawaiian.
Hawai‘i Pacific University is also anticipating a loss of $1.5 million in federal grants, which includes funding for a program that promotes pursuing degrees in STEM fields through aquaculture for Native Hawaiian students.
Federal Education Secretary Linda McMahon stated that she intends to collaborate with Congress to reformulate funding for institutions that assist “underprepared or under-resourced” students without establishing quotas based on race or ethnicity.
However, the Education Department plans to disburse about $132 million for similar grant programs that are categorized as mandatory, based on existing legislation.
Despite this, the department acknowledged ongoing deliberations regarding the legal implications of these mandatory funding programs.
In response to the federal government’s decision, Babington argued that the grants for minority institutions provide educational benefits for all students enrolled, not just those from minority groups.
She noted that Chaminade utilized some of its federal funding to redesign classrooms, fostering greater collaboration and enhanced engagement among all students.
“It seems ill-informed to cancel these when everybody who goes to the institution benefits,” she asserted.
Ongoing legal disputes also surround federal grants targeting Hispanic-Serving Institutions, specifically those where at least 25% of undergraduates are Latino.
In a federal lawsuit initiated by Tennessee and the anti-affirmative action group Students for Fair Admissions, Tennessee argues that its public universities serve Hispanic students but do not meet the “arbitrary ethnic threshold” necessary for grant eligibility.
The Justice Department has refrained from defending these grants, asserting that the enrollment requirement violates the U.S. Constitution.
Simultaneously, a national association representing Hispanic-Serving Institutions contends that these grants are permissible and essential for leveling the playing field for its members.
In a related development, Students for Fair Admissions has launched a campaign opposing Kamehameha Schools’ admissions policies that prioritize Native Hawaiian students.
The Virginia-based group claims that these practices infringe upon federal civil rights laws against racial discrimination, although Kamehameha Schools has successfully defended its admissions process in court in the past.
Overall, the termination of these federal grant programs represents a significant policy shift with potentially severe implications for Hawaiʻi’s educational institutions and the students they serve.
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