Excelencia in the News

New data analysis about Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) from Excelencia in Education and the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) reveals that such institutions are on the rise around the country, including in less-expected states such as Connecticut, Oregon and Tennessee.

Latino college students are far less likely than their white peers to complete their degree, and more likely to still be enrolled beyond six years on their path to a degree, according to the Excelencia in Education report, "College Completion Through a Latino Lens".

“Latinos are a little more averse to borrowing compared to other racial and ethnic groups,” said Deborah A. Santiago, co-founder, COO and vice president for policy at Excelencia in Education. “Financial literacy and making students aware of their options is important.”

Sen. Michael Bennet (CO) was one of several higher education and policy leaders who spoke during The Hill and Excelencia in Education's event, Latinos in College: Closing the Graduation Gap, all of whom focused in on the goal of closing achievement gaps for not only Latino students, but all those coming from underserved communities. While every speaker brought his or her own perspective to the table, the consensus was that more work needs to be done to get legislators and institutional leaders on the same page, because as Bennet said during the event, "There is no place in the universe that's further from schools than the Capitol."

The Latino Theatre Initiatives at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley is one of 19 student organizations from 12 states to be recognized as a program to watch in 2018 by Excelencia in Education.

The attention has been on K-12, but Excelencia in Education is focused on helping Latino students succeed in higher education through the use of data.

In 2011, Cossatot Community College of the University of Arkansas set out to achieve its No. 1 priority -- increase its Hispanic enrollment.

The three-campus college was far from mirroring its community's population. About 11 percent of Cossatot's 1,530 students in fall 2010 were Hispanic, while Hispanics made up more than half of the population of De Queen, the college's main campus.

Now -- nearly seven years later -- that strategic plan has come to fruition.

ASU has become visible in the national arena through its relationship with Excelencia in Education, an organization that works to increase Hispanic students’ success across the country. According to Excelencia’s data, ASU graduates the most Hispanic students in the nation. James is currently working with Excelencia to host its annual meeting at ASU in March.