Telling a Better Story: Narrating Student Successes at Minority Serving Institutions

Minority Serving Institutions have inspiring students and dedicated faculty, and their initiatives to help traditionally underserved students are having an impact in their respective communities and across the country. Yet, all too often, these success stories go untold or are shared with only a small group of insiders. As a result, some MSIs have an image problem: Too many people either have not heard of them at all, or what little they do know about them is negative. It is long past time for MSIs to take control of their stories—to seize the lead in telling them, and to find wider audiences for them. In this report, the authors point to examples of MSIs ‘telling a better story’ in myriad ways including through the use of educational data, by participating in national research studies, by communicating their success in diverse venues and to multiple audiences, and by engaging institutional presidents in ‘story telling’ and speaking out on national issues.