嘿嘿视频

Our Goals in Becoming a Hispanic Serving Institution

Task Force Presents Plan to Empower 鈥楻ising Scholars鈥

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Students study while on a couch.
<strong>The report examines the current experiences of Chicanx and Latinx students, and said places on campus like the Center for Chicanx and Latinx Academic Student Success &ldquo;provide much needed holistic support for students.&rdquo; Katya Arrazate and Jissel Olea Lopez are pictured studying in the center in 2017. (Karin Higgins/嘿嘿视频).</strong>

嘿嘿视频 has fully embraced its journey toward achieving Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) designation, or HSI, and has a plan to help its Hispanic scholars thrive once it receives the designation.

The cover of the HSI task force report.

That plan, outlined in , involves attracting more Chicanx and Latinx students, empowering them to succeed, and preparing 嘿嘿视频 students and the University of California system to succeed in a multicultural world.

鈥淥ur rising scholars bring unique and diverse assets that make 嘿嘿视频 better in myriad ways,鈥 Chancellor Gary S. May said. 鈥淗SI is a badge of excellence that we are striving for to show we鈥檙e closing the gap on access to higher education.鈥

The process of receiving an HSI designation from the federal government has several requirements that center on such factors as the percentage of students who come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds or are of Hispanic heritage. 

Bold yet feasible proposals

Raquel Aldana
Aldana

Raquel Aldana, associate vice chancellor for Academic Diversity and one of the task force鈥檚 co-chairs, said the group worked hard to make bold proposals that were also feasible.

鈥淭he transformative recommendations in this report are the result of careful deliberation by our group and input from many stakeholders,鈥 she said. 鈥淭hese changes will call for significant commitment from many, and the hard work will be for the ultimate benefit of the future leaders whom we can elevate to solve the world鈥檚 most pressing issues.鈥

The report, prepared by the 30-person task force over nearly 10 months, outlines four goals:

  • Prepare and attract a broad profile of 鈥渞ising scholars鈥 to 嘿嘿视频
  • Ensure that rising scholars have the opportunity to learn, succeed, graduate and thrive
  • Fulfill our Hispanic Serving mission by elevating students to industries with critical workforce needs and by preparing and educating all students to serve a multicultural society
  • Harness UC鈥檚 collective strengths as a system to transform public higher education

Throughout its report, the task force uses the term 鈥渞ising scholar鈥 for Chicanx and Latinx students and other students who, like them, may come from underserved communities or be the first in their families to go to college, to focus on the positive contributions they bring to the university rather than deficits like income level.

Recognizing scholars鈥 talents

The report calls for empowering rising scholars by recognizing their talents and responding to what they need by providing holistic, coordinated and embedded services. It recommends, for example, harnessing student鈥檚 multilingualism to teach writing. It also recommends building STEM learning communities and cohort models.

More outreach is also proposed 鈥 both to attract prospective students from areas near campus and places 鈥渨ith high concentrations of rising scholars鈥 like the Central Valley, and to attract staff 鈥渨ho demonstrate a commitment to serving the needs of Chicanx/Latinx communities.鈥

The report also calls for establishing institutional incentives to empower faculty and staff with the skills and ability they need to effectively teach, mentor, innovate, lead and build positive campus climates and learning environments. Ideas include leveraging the academic program review process to incentivize departments and individual faculty to integrate culturally responsive approaches into their teaching as a best practice for closing equity gaps and preparing students to work in a multicultural society. An HSI director position should be created within the to coordinate the overall effort, the report says.

Committed to community

The report includes student feedback that was gathered through various engagement events and questionnaires. Students impressed upon the task force their desire for educational experiences that would leverage their commitment to serving their community.

鈥淪uccess for me is the success of my community,鈥 one student said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not until my community overcomes oppression 鈥 that鈥檚 when I can say that I鈥檓 successful.鈥

Another shared what the HSI status means: 鈥淚t means adjusting to our needs rather than demanding (that we adjust) to the standards demanded by traditional higher education. It means making education, knowledge accessible. 鈥 We need to move beyond just providing resources and critically evaluate the every day work that is demanded of students.鈥

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