Design Principles for Equity and Excellence at Hispanic-Serving Institutions

Abstract

Many higher education researchers, policymakers, educational advocates, institutional leaders, and educational practitioners have called for widespread dialogue on what it means to be truly Hispanic-Serving. Due in part to the lack of consensus on what it means to be Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), they lack guidance on how to assess themselves on how well they serve Latino/a students. HSIs shoulder unique responsibilities, including the education of post traditional student populations, while facing distinct resource related challenges. With these facts in mind, this report offers design principles for equity and excellence at HSIs that can be used to assess the extent to which these institutions are truly serving Latino/a students.