Examples of Excelencia

Meeting the increasing challenges of a global economy requires all in the U.S. are well educated, especially the growing Latino population. Now, more than ever, it is necessary to build momentum to capture the talents of Latino students and enhance their transitions into a highly skilled workforce and into leadership roles in the U.S. society.

Launched in 2005, the Examples of Excelencia initiative is designed to help reach this goal by identifying and honoring programs and departments at the forefront of increasing academic opportunities and improving achievement for Latino students at the associate, baccalaureate, and graduate levels. We focus on results and disseminating these promising practices to others interested in serving Latino students. We invite you to make a nomination for a program you believe deserves to be recognized as an Example of Excelencia.

Initiative goals

Through the Examples of Excelencia initiative, we hope to achieve three major goals:

Focus on better results for Latino students – We want to identify good ideas, tactics and strategies at work within colleges and universities today and share this information with other educators and policymakers to make an even bigger impact.
Recognition – We want to offer public recognition to the educators, community based organizations and institutions who lead these efforts by making good use of resources to serve Latino college-going students and all students well.
Dissemination – We want to share action oriented profiles about these effective efforts with educators, policymakers and business leaders ready to invest time and resources in serving Latino students and thus growing the country’s future workforce and leadership.

Nominations

The 2013 Examples of Excelencia call for nominations closed May 3, 2013. Programs or departments of institutions of higher education could have submitted as associate, baccalaureate or graduate level nominations. Nominations could have been made within one of these categories (students served by the nominated program may be at mixed-levels). One program at each level will be recognized as the 2013 Example of Excelencia on October 1, 2013 on Capitol Hill. Learn more

Although nominated programs should have a demonstrated record of achievement in accelerating Latino student success in higher education, nominations for small and/or new programs were encouraged.

The following information was required for nominations:

Nominees' contact information
Contact information for key program or department personnel
Explanation for nominating the program or department

Once a nomination was submitted, Excelencia in Education staff contacted the key program or department personnel included in the nomination and invited them to complete a profile in order to be considered for the 2013 Examples of Excelencia.

Who may nominate?

Individuals within, or familar with but not part of, programs or departments of postsecondary education providing direct services in access, outreach, and academic or professional advancement with a record of evidence-based results for Latino students were encouraged to nominate.

Individuals within programs and departments could have nominated their own programs. We also encouraged nominations from programs or departments previously submitted but not selected as the Example of Excelencia Honorees.

What Characteristics are we looking for?

We are looking for programs and departments with the following characteristics:

Record of achievement in graduating Latino students
Evidence of effectiveness in serving Latino students
Leadership with demonstrated commitment to accelerating Latino student achievement by measuring progress and implementing practices and policies to achieve the goal
Strong networks with other stakeholders, including schools and colleges, clinics, other community-based organizations, practitioners, and professionals
Professional staff focused on addressing the needs of Latino students and all students
Services and programs that integrate Latino culture and enhance Latino students’ navigation between their homes, community, schools and their professions

How do I nominate?

To be considered for the 2013 Examples of Excelencia, a complete profile of nominated programs/departments was needed. Nominations were accepted through May 3, 2013.

Review process

The Examples of Excelencia initiative follows a two-step review process:

Excelencia staff review submitted information by academic level to assess the nomination's impact on Latino achievement in higher education and identifies finalists.
A selection committee comprised of experts from diverse national organizations assesses and selects one Example of Excelencia at each academic level for recognition.

Benefits to selected programs and departments

The 2013 Example of Excelencia at each academic level will receive the following:

A financial award of $5,000 to support their programming efforts;
Acknowledgement at the Celebración de Excelencia on October 1, 2013 with policymakers, educators, and civic leaders to recognize these effective programs or departments;
Inclusion of their profile in the 2013 edition of What Works for Latino Students in Higher Education;
Inclusion in the Growing What Works Database, an online searchable database;
An invitation to present at the ALASS (Accelerating Latino Student Success) Workshop being held in Washington, DC on October 2, 2013; and,
National media attention and recognition in Excelencia's online communication.

Benefits of making a nomination

All individuals, institutions, and organizations that made a nomination will receive:

Acknowlegement at the Celebración de Excelencia on October 1, 2013 with policymakers, educators, and civic leaders to recognize these effective programs or departments;
An invitation to the ALASS (Accelerating Latino Student Success) Workshop with the 2013 Examples of Excelencia. The 4th annual ALASS Workshop will be held in Washington, DC on October 2, 2013; and,
Inclusion in Excelencia in Education’s mailing list for updates on Latino student success in higher education.

Outreach Partners

Our dissemination partners help to inform and encourage educators, policy makers, and business leaders to nominate to the annual Examples of Excelencia initiative.

Previous Examples of Excelencia

Since 2006, programs at the associate, baccalaureate, and graduate levels have been recognized based on their evidence of boosting Latino college enrollment, performance, and graduation. Learn more about these forward leaning efforts by year: three programs at institutions of higher education were chosen based on their evidence of boosting Latino college enrollment, performance, or graduation. Learn more about the 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012 Examples of Excelencia recipients.