The Minority Serving Institution (MSI)Task Force, led by the University’s Executive Vice President and Provost, was established in Fall 2019. This group is a coalition of UNLV stakeholders dedicated to advancing student success initiatives for campus students of color, including promoting educational equity and eliminating the achievement gap.
The mission of the MSI Task Force is to design, construct, and maintain institutional support systems to promote educational success for students of color and other underrepresented students in higher education.
The members of the full MSI Task Force comprise a broad coalition of UNLV community members dedicated to promoting student success for students of color.
WHAT’S MSI?
Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) are U.S colleges and universities that enroll a high percentage of minority students. Because minority populations have experienced disproportionate barriers to higher education, the federal government provides financial support through various titles of the Higher Education Act. MSIs include Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), as well as colleges and universities with high enrollments of Native Americans, Asian Americans and Native American Pacific Islanders, and Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians.
MSIs are institutions of higher education that serve minority populations. They are unique both in their missions and in their day-to-day operations. Some of these colleges and universities are located in remote regions of the country, whereas others serve urban neighborhoods. Some are only a few decades old, whereas others, have been striving for more than a century to give their constituents the social and educational skills needed to overcome racial discrimination and limited economic opportunities.
Source: US Department of Interior
In 2012, UNLV received from the Department of Education Title III and Title V designation as a Minority-Serving Institution (MSI). By 2015, the university was recognized as an Asian-American and Native-American, Pacific Islander-Serving Institution (AANAPISI) and as a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). These three designations confirm UNLV’s eligibility apply for funding designed to enhance and expand programming and support for these student groups. Currently, an annual application for these designations is filed by administrators from the Center for Academic Enrichment and Outreach, which manages a number of federal grants for services to underrepresented students.
