HBCUs include 91 four-year and 17 two-year institutions of higher education established prior to 1964, for the primary purpose of educating African Americans. The majority of the 102 HBCUs are located in the southeastern states, the District of Columbia, and the Virgin Islands. HBCUs comprise 3 percent of America's institutions of higher education yet enroll 16 percent of all African American students in higher education and award 24 percent of all baccalaureate degrees earned by African Americans nationwide.

HSIs are accredited, post-secondary higher educational institutions with at least 25 percent total full-time enrollment of Hispanic undergraduate students. HSIs included four-year and two-year public and private educational institutions. HSIs enroll 40 percent of all Hispanic American students of higher education. There are 274 institutions of higher education defined as HSIs using the criteria defined by the White House Initiative and the Department of Education.

The first TCU was created on a remote reservation community on the Navajo Nation. They now exist throughout Native Country. The 35 public and private higher educational institutions provide a response to the higher education needs of Native Americans, and generally serve geographically isolated populations that have no other means of accessing education beyond the high school level. TCUs have become increasingly important to educational opportunity for Native American students, an importance they have achieved in a relatively brief period of time.

The AAPI community is one of the fastest growing populations in the U.S. Projections indicate that by 2050 this population will double in size.