Albertus Magnus College Achieves Hispanic Serving Institution Status
Becomes First Catholic College in New England to Meet Federal Designation Requirement
New Haven, Conn., October 18, 2023 – As a Catholic college with mission-centric commitments to equity and opportunity dating back to its founding in 1925 by the Dominican Sisters of Peace, Albertus Magnus College is proud to announce it has achieved Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) status. HSI is a federal designation for not-for-profit, degree-granting institutions with a full-time equivalent (FTE) undergraduate student enrollment that is at least 25% Hispanic.
“In March 2020, our community endorsed the College’s Albertus 2025: Lighting the Way to a Second Century strategic plan, and in doing so, articulated a commitment to achieve Hispanic Serving Institution status,” said Albertus President Marc M. Camille, Ed.D. “Today, a little more than half way into that plan’s timeline for achievement, we’ve reached this mission centric milestone, with 26% of this fall’s undergraduate FTE enrollment being from Hispanic backgrounds. I am proud to help lead New England’s most diverse Catholic college and its first to achieve HSI status. At Albertus, we emphasize the word ‘service’ in this designation, with a shared goal to support and mentor all of our students in their college education dreams.”
According to the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities website, in the 2021-22 academic year there were a total of 572 HSIs across the nation and Puerto Rico, of whom 174 were four-year private non-profits. In Connecticut, the University of Bridgeport was the only private four-year institution with HSI status. Since fall 2017, Albertus Magnus has seen its Hispanic student FTE undergraduate percentage climb from 19% to this fall’s 26%, and the incoming first-year class that enrolled in August was 30% Hispanic, up from 24% a year ago.
“We will embrace this new status and seek to fulfill the service component of being an HSI, by working to retain and graduate these and other underrepresented minority students which is a key part of Albertus’ adaptive strategy in these changing times of higher education” stated Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty Rosa E. Rivera-Hainaj, Ph.D. “What a way to cap-off – and slightly extend – Hispanic Heritage Month.”
About Albertus Magnus College
Founded in 1925, Albertus is a coeducational Catholic College in the Dominican tradition. Albertus' values- and liberal arts-based education is recognized by external rankings such as US News & World Report, Money, and The New York Times, and has been named a Top 10 Military Friendly School. For ten consecutive years, at least 95% of Albertus graduates have attained employment or gone on to graduate studies within six months of completing their degrees. The College has an enrollment of approximately 1,300 students across its traditional undergraduate, accelerated adult undergraduate, and graduate program levels. Proud to enroll a student body where nearly half of its undergraduate students receive Federal Pell Grants and are first-generation college goers, Albertus is known for its innovative curricular offerings, recently launching new Bachelor's degree programs in Nursing, including BSN and Connecticut's first LPN-to-BSN; General Health Sciences; Interdisciplinary Studies; and Public Health.
Among its graduate offerings is the State of Connecticut's only Master of Arts in Art Therapy and Counseling program, and it is just one of three schools to offer a Master of Science in Human Services. In 2025-26, Albertus is celebrating its historic 100th Anniversary and completing implementation of the Albertus 2025: Lighting the Way to a Second Century strategic plan, with a bold vision to "be a destination liberal arts-based college, distinguished in its interdisciplinary and experiential approach to education, rooted in Dominican values, that prepares students for lifelong civic engagement and success." To learn more, please visit albertus.edu.