What does it mean to be a Hispanic-Serving Institution? Listening to the Latina/o/x voices of students

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine what the Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) designation means to Hispanic college students at a Research One four-year university. This qualitative case study used one-on-one interviews with Hispanic undergraduate and graduate students to explore their experiences and perceptions of what it means to be an HSI and how the HSI designation can affect their collegiate experience. The study was guided by Museus’s culturally engaging campus environments model to help identify what strategies can enhance the educational experiences of Hispanic students attending an HSI. The findings of this paper only include data from students of this particular HSI. The overarching themes that emerged include a sense of belonging through campus organizations, the presence of Latina/o/x faculty, and institutional diversity.

Keywords:

• Latina/o/x students
• Hispanic-Serving Institutions
• cultural engagement
• student success
• resilience

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Women of Color Stimulus Research Grant 2018-2019 from the University of Houston.

Notes on contributors

Elsa Gonzalez

Dr. Elsa Gonzalez, Ph.D. is Assistant Professor of Higher Education in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in the University of Houston. Her research interests include issues in higher education such as underrepresented students, Latina/o students, school-college and readiness, access, resilience, retention, and graduation in STEM fields; HSI institutions; higher education leadership; and methodological issues in cross-language qualitative data analysis.

Guillermo Ortega

Guillermo Ortega is a Ph.D. candidate in Higher Education Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of Houston. He received his MEd in higher education from the University of California, Riverside. He researches intercollegiate athletics, Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), and policy issues related to equity for underserved students.

Mauricio Molina

Mauricio Molina, M.S. is a doctoral candidate in Higher Education Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of Houston. He received his MS in clinical counseling from the University of North Florida and BA in sociology from the University of Florida. His research interests include campus ecology, campus planning and design, higher education funding and capital outlay, Latinx student success, and HSIs.

Gilberto Lizalde

Gilberto Lizalde, M.Ed. is a business administrator within the Division of Student Affairs and Enrollment Services at the University of Houston. He received his M.Ed. in higher education from the University of Houston and BA in corporate and organizational communications from Northern Illinois University. His research interests include Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), Latina/o/x student success, and Latina/o/x higher education leadership.