Excelencia in the News

Nationwide, the percentage of Hispanic or Latino adults ages 25 or over with a diploma has risen from 53 percent in 1995 to 72 percent last year, says the advocacy and research group Excelencia in Education.

Dr. Deborah A. Santiago, co-founder and chief executive officer of Excelencia in Education, says that, in addition to creating a positive campus climate, intentionally serving Latinx or Hispanic students means enrolling them, retaining them, supporting them financially, graduating them and having staff and faculty that is representative of Hispanic groups on campus.

Latinx are half as likely as non-Hispanic whites to hold a bachelor’s degree, and the gulf has widened since the early 2000s. Experts say part of the reason so few Latinx students finish college is that they are ending up at overcrowded, underfunded community colleges as well as less-selective universities. With Latinx expected to make up 28.6 percent of the U.S. population by 2060, and well-paying jobs dwindling for workers who don’t hold bachelor’s degrees, pressure is rising on schools to tailor their services to help more of these students to and through college.

San Diego State University has been selected as a finalist for the Seal of Excelencia by Excelencia in Education. The certification recognizes higher education institutions effectively preparing Latino students for success.

Excelencia in Education, a nonprofit organization that seeks to improve education outcomes for Latinx college students, on Thursday announced 20 finalists that will receive the group's first annual Seal of Excelencia certification.

In January, Oregon educators received some encouraging news about graduation rates, particularly for historically underserved students in Oregon, and most notably for Oregon’s Latinx students. Leaders discussed evidence-based programs with experts like Janette Martinez from Excelencia in Education, which tracks the effectiveness of programs accelerating Latino higher education graduation rates across the country — noting ways colleges and universities can support Latinx students beyond recruitment and admission.

Fifty-one percent of those who graduate go on to college, according to the Youth Development Institute of Puerto Rico, compared to 67 percent of suburban American high school graduates and 63 percent of rural and urban ones.

Of those who do enroll at universities on the island, fewer than half earn degrees, even after six years, the advocacy group Excelencia in Education reports, compared to more than 58 percent of college students nationwide.

Sarita Brown, president of Excelencia in Education, delivered the opening keynote at this year’s New England Latinx Student Leadership Conference hosted by Rhode Island College.