Washington, D.C.—Recently the Asian American and Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AAPISI) program, as a provision of the Higher Education Opportunity Act (H.R. 4137), became a law. Aligned to the goals of other minority serving institution (MSI) programs, the AAPISI program will expand the capacities of higher education institutions to better serve college students, particularly those with low-income and/or Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) ethnic backgrounds.

The National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA) applauds Congressman David Wu (D-OR) and the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), as led by Congressman Mike Honda (D-CA), on marshalling the AAPISI program into law.

“Too often are our AAPI students overshadowed by the model minority stereotype—as if they have no needs whatsoever,” NCAPA Chair Floyd Mori said. “This historic program is a giant step forward to addressing those neglected needs.”

Under H.R. 4137, the AAPISI program will be extended through fiscal year 2013, and allow schools to expand services such as tutoring, counseling, collecting data on AAPI populations, outreaching to AAPI communities to encourage youth to pursue post-secondary education, and partnering with community-based organizations serving AAPI populations.

Furthermore, federal agencies will be able to use the AAPISI designation to target grants and programs to AAPI students and communities. For example, the Department of Housing and Urban Development has provided millions of dollars in grants to MSIs under the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) and Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI) designations so that they can expand their capacities to serve low-income and under-represented African- and Latino American students. With a similar designation, AAPISIs will be able to reap comparable benefits, which can further support low-income and underserved AAPI students and communities.

To monitor the implementation of H.R. 4137’s provisions including the AAPISI program, please visit www.ed.gov/policy/highered/leg/hea08/index.html#dcl.