WASHINGTON– Leaders and individuals committed to the success of Latino students in higher education gathered for a collaborative panel discussion following the release of Excelencia in Education and Gallup’s report “Examining Life Outcomes Among Graduates of Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs).”
Presentations and panelists expanded on the organizations’ report findings, which revealed the significant impact that HSIs with intentional and supportive strategies play in preparing Latino students for the workforce, while also positively affecting their overall well-being.
“When you talk about success … it is equally important [to note] how a student’s education supports their future lives,” said Sarita E. Brown, president of Excelencia in Education, in opening remarks.
With 65 percent of all Latino students enrolled at HSIs, Brown added that the institutions should be looking at their data to move forward on increasing Latino student success.
Excelencia and Gallup’s report developed from interviews with 14,320 college graduates who received their bachelor’s degree from one of 12 HSIs between 2000 and 2017. The institutions included California State University, Channel Islands; California State University, Los Angeles; California State University, Sacramento; Dominican University; Felician University; Lehman College, CUNY; Northeastern Illinois University; Nova Southeastern University; Queens College, CUNY; St. Edward’s University; Texas Woman’s University; and University of LaVerne.
Report findings highlighted several strategies that proved to be effective for increasing Latino achievement in higher education and opportunities to improve:
In addition to the findings that showed the effect of inclusive environments and intentional leadership decisions on policy and practices for Latino student success, Dr. Deborah A. Santiago shared that HSIs have an opportunity to propel students into the workforce by imbedding career competencies in the curriculum, enhancing experiential learning and paid internship opportunities, partnering with employers to build pipelines and implementing “intrusive advising” to inform students about career prospects.
