Excelencia’s Policy Agenda: Institutional Capacity

Overview

Institutions serving a growing share of Latino students also serve students from many backgrounds and situations, and supporting the institution will increase the educational and economic success for all learners and their communities. To deliver excellent education, institutions must invest in programs and policies that enhance student access, completion, and workforce readiness. We prioritize:

• Sustaining and Scaling Key Investments: Continued and impactful investment in competitive federal funding programs for institutional capacity to retain critical progress in Latino student success at institutions that have historically been underfunded, and ensure long-term dedication and improvement in academic quality for all of their students.

• Investing in Quality Higher Education: Fair and representative investment by states and the federal government in institutions that educate a significant and growing share of Latino students and take responsibility for expanding their impact and building sustainable support systems for student success.

How can policy help improve access to excellence by investing in institutions intentionally serving Latino, and all, students?

• Ensure federal institutional capacity funding approved by Congress continues to serve institutions with low educational and general expenditures, high concentrations of students with financial need, and a demonstrated commitment to serving Latino, and all, students.

• Count every student instead of using full-time equivalent (FTE) to determine eligibility for funding, and significantly increase financial support to institutions serving high numbers of students with financial need.

• Add criteria to the Title III and V programs of the Higher Education Act to detail institutional momentum measures of progress in key areas of the educational pathway.

• Refocus and limit the allowable activities for Title III and V grants to better align with Latino student success.