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Seal of Excelencia
Trendsetting colleges and universities across the country are taking responsibility for transformation that ensures their students earn a quality education of value. Excelencia in Education created the Seal of Excelencia as a national certification that holds colleges and universities accountable for continuous improvement in student success before and beyond graduation — reinforcing higher education’s role as an engine of social mobility, economic vitality, and workforce development.
The Seal of Excelencia recognizes and drives excellence at institutions with Latino students, knowing that an intentional, mission-driven investment that includes serving this population, ensures all of our students, communities, and country are served.
Continuous, Student-Centered Improvement
The Seal of Excelencia is a rigorous, student-centered, data-informed certification framework that requires colleges and universities to show momentum leading to continuous improvement in student outcomes. Institutions earn this standard of excellence through an intentional alignment of data, evidence-based practices, and leadership, all resulting in student success.
Is your institution ready to demonstrate intentionality and impact?
The Seal of Excelencia Framework
The Seal represents a voluntary journey of continuous improvement in student success — not a destination. Excelencia charted this journey based on 20 years of working with institutions and offers tools to assess readiness and build capacity along the way. There are 45 institutions that have earned the Seal, spanning three progressive levels of certification: Certified, Recertified, and Intentionally Thriving Institutions (ITIs).
Could your institution lead alongside these trendsetters?
Institutions on the Seal Certification Journey
The Seal and Institutional Value
The Seal helps colleges and universities move beyond isolated programs toward systemic change to intentionally serve all students. Seal certification is both a national standard of excellence and proof of positive student impact to funders, accreditors, and communities.
Does Seal certification align with your institution’s vision?
Expand Your Knowledge with Excelencia
How does the Seal of Excelencia uphold the value of higher education?
The Seal framework reinforces four essential components of higher education value: 1) Ensuring all students succeed; 2) Supporting continuous improvement institution-wide; 3) Enhancing economic/social mobility; and 4) Demonstrating effective use of public funds. Institutions that earn the Seal articulate how they deliver this value for students, communities, and our country.
Does the Seal of Excelencia apply only to institutions serving Latino students?
The Seal framework combines data on the educational pathway for all students served — not Latinos alone — with evidence of impact from intentional practices and leadership commitment from strategic planning. For that reason, it applies to all institutions serving post-traditional students. Excelencia focuses on Latino students because they represent the post-traditional majority, and what works for them can also work for others.
What distinguishes Seal of Excelencia certified institutions from Hispanic-Serving
Institutions (HSIs)?
HSIs are defined as having 25% or more undergraduate Hispanic student full-time equivalent (FTE) enrollment, and they constitute a critical set of colleges and universities expanding access to higher education. Through the Seal, Excelencia asserts the opportunity to go beyond enrollment and deconstruct the “S” in “HSI” to intentionally SERVE Latino, and all, students. An institution does not need to be an HSI to earn the Seal.
Is my institution ready to start the Seal of Excelencia certification journey?
Institutions must join our community of practice and affiliate with the Excelencia in Action network to be eligible for Seal certification. Applicants will tell their story of intentionally serving Latino, and all, students through data, practice, and leadership. Institutions can assess their readiness for certification with our Seal Serving Institutional Transformation Assessment (SSITA) tool and capacity building opportunities.
To learn more, contact us at: Seal@EdExcelencia.org.
What makes Intentionally Thriving Institutions (ITIs) stand out from other Seal of Excelencia certified institutions?
ITIs have committed to the journey toward continuous improvement for more than six years, earning Seal recertification twice along the way. In addition to ensuring Latino, and all, students thrive on campus, ITIs demonstrate strong post-completion success outcomes — preparing and linking Latino, and all, students to the workforce and growing talent for America’s future.