Ensuring America’s Future: Latino College Completion 2023
Increasing Latino college completion is key to future prosperity
Excelencia in Education remains committed to ensuring America’s future by increasing Latino college completion. Excelencia’s most recent analysis of public data on enrollment, degree completion, and degree attainment shows that degree completion gaps have increased between Latino students and their White peers. To close the gap in degree completion, the United States requires a tactical plan to reach the Latino degree attainment goal of 6.2 million degrees earned by 2030. This plan must include strategies to help Latinos accelerate degree completion while supporting increased attainment for all students.
Our Tactical Plan for Latino Student Success
How does Excelencia advance Latino student success in higher education?
Seal of Excelencia Certified Institutions
In 2024, eight institutions earned the Seal of Excelencia and nine earned recertification. These 17 institutions belong to a community of 46 trendsetting colleges and universities that have earned the Seal by demonstrating intentionality and impact in SERVING Latino students through data, practice, and leadership. They are ensuring America’s future by advancing the talents of the Latino community.
HSI Lists: 2023-24
What is included in Excelencia’s release and how can I learn more using this analysis?
How Latinos Pay for College:
2025 National Trends
This brief builds on 20 years of Excelencia in Education’s research on Latino students and college affordability, as well as lessons learned from institutional leadership and students’ experiences. It provides timely information about two components of college affordability:
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How Latino students are taking cost-saving measures and using financial aid to pay for college.
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How a group of trendsetting institutions is financially supporting Latino, and all, students.
2024 Examples of Excelencia
Explore the work done by programs implementing intentional evidence-based practices to increase Latino student success:
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English for Academic Purposes, Reading Area Community College (PA) - Associate Level
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College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP, Washington State University (WA) - Baccalaureate Level
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Project upGRADS, California State University, Fullerton (CA) - Graduate Level
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Career Pathways: Empowering Students to Succeed, The Immokalee Foundation, Inc. (FL) - CBO Level
Visit What Works to learn about Examples of Excelencia and engage with programs making a positive difference.
Latest from Excelencia
Stay informed with the latest research and analysis from Excelencia.
Expand Your Knowledge with Excelencia
How does intentionally SERVING Latino students benefit our society?
Latinos are a young, fast-growing population, yet degree completion gaps have increased between Latinos and their White peers. Excelencia’s analysis shows that closing the gap in degree completion by accelerating Latino student success will strengthen America’s workforce and civic leadership.
How can we inform educational practice and policy to facilitate positive change on behalf of Latino students?
Excelencia’s research provides a basis of information on the status of Latino students in higher education from which to compel positive action by institutional leaders and measure progress toward accelerating Latino student success.
From Latino enrollment and workforce participation, to how Latino students pay for college, to mapping Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), this research informs and compels action.
What works to improve Latino degree attainment and how can we expand these practices?
In 2005, we initiated Examples of Excelencia — the only national effort to recognize and promote evidence-based practices promoting Latino student success. We have celebrated over 350 programs making a difference, all of which are featured in our Growing What Works Database.
How does Excelencia catalyze institutional transformation that produces meaningful results for Latino students?
In addition to building the Excelencia in Action network, our technical assistance opportunities and Seal of Excelencia certification support and reinforce institutional capacity to intentionally SERVE Latino students using comprehensive strategies that align data, practice, and leadership.
What are Excelencia’s policy priorities for supporting Latino student success in higher education?
Excelencia focuses on four policy priorities: affordability, institutional capacity, retention, and workforce preparation for closing gaps in degree attainment and increasing educational and economic opportunity for Latino and post-traditional students in higher education.