Sacramento’s AAPI minority-serving institutions ask for more funding. What’s it used for?

This year’s AANAPISI week, which ended on Friday, fell in line with some sobering numbers: Of all the minority-serving institutions in the United States, AANAPISI colleges and universities have received the lowest amount of funding per institution despite having one of the highest numbers of eligible institutions.

AANAPISIs, or Asian American, Native American and Pacific Islander-serving institutions, received about $9.15 million in funding across 160 grant-eligible institutions during the 2020 fiscal year, according to U.S. Department of Education data provided by Dr. Tim Fong, director of Sacramento State’s Full Circle Project.

That’s far less funding compared to what other minority-serving institutions received that year. For instance, HBCUs, or historically Black colleges and universities, received $404.8 million for its 96 eligible institutions, enough funding for $4.2 million each.

It’s a problem that AANAPISIs have faced since they were first established in 2007, according to Fong, who is also a professor of ethnic studies at Sacramento State.

“AANAPISI funding really draws attention to underrepresented and underserved API students,” Fong said. “The model minority myth is so strong.”

The AANAPISI program is one of the newest categories of minority-serving institutions, which are institutions of higher education that serve minority populations. All schools that qualify for AANAPISI grants must have an undergraduate body that is at least 10% Asian American, Native American and Pacific Islander, and at least 50% who qualify for federal aid such as the Pell Grant.

Fong said he and other AANAPISI directors across the country are pushing in meetings with local representatives for $30 million a year, distributed among the 160 colleges and universities that qualify for AANAPISI grants. An increase in AANAPISI funding should not come at the expense of other minority-serving institutions’ budgets, Fong stressed.

Along with the push for more funding, directors are also calling for a 90-day grant application window instead of the 30 days they were previously given, and to be notified earlier in the year about whether their applications are approved to give universities more time to map their budget plans.

How AANAPISIs help Sacramento students

Sacramento State is one university that’s received AANAPISI funding, which they’ve used to create the Full Circle Project.

The program is designed to help AAPI students, many of whom are often first generation or low-income, navigate higher education and support their academic success.

It’s one of three AANAPISI-eligible institutions in Sacramento — the other two are Los Rios Community College and Cosumnes River College — where funds have gone toward supporting AAPI students through peer-to-peer mentoring, counseling, academic advising and classes specifically exploring Asian American identity.

“To be honest, I really don’t think I would have survived my first year without it,” said Maya Custodio, a second-year Sacramento State pre-nursing student. “I didn’t know the help I would need … It was just not in my perspective.”

The Full Circle Project was essential to her transition from high school to college, she said, especially when it came to applying for things like scholarships, FAFSA and internships. As a first-generation college student, Custodio said she thought she would have to navigate higher education alone. Learning about FCP’s services and meeting other first-generation students in the program helped her find her place.

Programs like the Full Circle Project also foster a sense of belonging for AAPI students, particularly those who have been historically underrepresented in higher education.

Isaiah Aitolu, a fourth-year political science major at Sacramento State, said that when he voiced his concern to Fong his freshman year about the lack of Pacific Islander representation, the program paid for him and several other Pacific Islander students to attend the Asian Pacific Americans in Higher Education conference.

Students who benefit most from AANAPISI programs often find that their needs aren’t fully met by existing campus resources, Aitolu said, whether it’s because they need peer-to-peer mentoring, extra tutoring, individual career coaching or something else. AANAPISI programs target the specific needs of those students, he said, and deserve more recognition and awareness from the public.

“Just being in that space alone was so empowering,” Aitolu said. “It really does make a difference that more than half of our institution is serving these different communities. These are things that we might take for granted.”

This story was originally published October 2, 2020 at 12:12 PM.