Latino Student Success at Hispanic Serving Institutions: Findings from a Demonstration Project

This seminal brief, originally released in 2004, started shaping Excelencia in Education’s national agenda to accelerate Latino student success in higher education. It examined the institutional leadership and practices that promote Latino student success at six HSIs in California, Texas, and New York.

As you read this brief, consider these three original framing components to today’s evolving college and university efforts to intentionally serve our students:

1. Hispanic “serving” institutions must actively promote Latino students’ success, not just enroll Hispanic students.
2. Latino student success includes more than degree completion. Student engagement in campus activities, continuous enrollment, employment beyond graduation, and enrollment in graduate education are also part of student success.
3. Multiple measures of institutional effectiveness and incentives for educating Latino students are critical as HSIs lead and develop innovative practices that promote student success.

Building on the insights from this project — followed by years of working with colleges and universities active in our national network of Presidents for Latino Student Success and continually identifying evidence-based practices that advance Latino students — led us to design the Seal of Excelencia.