Hispanic-serving Institution Research Articles

A Phenomenological Study: Challenges for Undergraduate Nontraditional Hispanic Women Students on the Path to Degree Attainment

This study was conducted at a small public university located in New Mexico, in the southwest area of the United States. The purpose of the study was to understand persistence to degree attainment of undergraduate nontraditional Hispanic women (NTHW) students at an institution which is Hispanic-serving (HSI). Challenges for NTHW students on the path to degree attainment include Hispanic cultural values around the homemaker role, attitudes toward higher education, social roles, and finances. A hermeneutic phenomenological approach illuminated understanding of the shared experiences of nine NTHW students. The findings of this study can help HSIs and policymakers understand the educational implications for NTHW students. States like New Mexico, a minority-majority state, would benefit from policies that help increase college completion of its nontraditional Hispanic citizenry.

The Evolving Identities of HSI and Differentiated Funding

To achieve Higher Education Act Title V funding goals, policymakers must reconsider approaches, respond to Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) diversity, and prioritize servingness. This study investigated HSI heterogeneity across traditional performance metrics and student-engagement indicators using data sources previously only examined independently. A multi-step TwoStep cluster analysis revealed six clusters of HSIs. The two most important predictors of cluster membership were years with an HSI designation (transitioning and established) and institution type (associate, bachelor, and special focus). Key quantitative metrics may be useful for policy actors seeking an equity-minded Title V award strategy that considers HSI heterogeneity and prioritizes HEA Title V policy aims.

A Critical Qualitative Study of Inequities in Hispanic-Serving Institutions’ Grant-Seeking Competitiveness

Hispanic-Serving Institutions’ (HSIs) diversification and Title V’s anemic funding present a ripe condition for inequity. Hence, I interviewed 29 institutional actors across 17 HSIs to understand how they view their competitiveness for these grants and sources of inequity of this program. I identified four themes, demonstrating that an HSI’s institutional capacity, (in)actions, knowledge, and leadership inform its competitiveness for Title V funding. The findings show that HSIs have unequal organizational conditions and reveal ways this program may (re)produce inequity among HSIs. Without increased Title V appropriations and policy modification, HSIs will vie for funding on increasingly unequal terms, resulting in greater inequity.

A diversity index to measure underrepresented minority enrollment in United States colleges and schools of pharmacy

IntroductionWith an underrepresented minority (URM) student population of <20%, colleges and schools of pharmacy (CoPs) in the United States (US) lag behind the national population, in which URMs account for >30%. Few tools are available to assist the >140 US CoPs in tracking progress in URM diversity among student pharmacists. Thus, the study's purpose was to address this gap by: (1) creating a “diversity index” for pharmacy programs; and (2) determining changes in diversity index scores between 2011 and 2020. MethodsThis was a secondary analysis of 2011–2020 fall URM enrollment data for CoPs and national and state population data. The annual diversity index score for 2011–2020 was calculated for each CoP. Wilcoxon signed-rank tests and Mann-Whitney U tests were conducted. ResultsAmong all CoPs, median URM percent enrollment significantly increased from 7.7% in 2011 to 14.5% in 2020. Median diversity index scores for all CoPs increased from 0.66 in 2011 to 0.76 in 2020, but this change was not statistically significant. Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) had significantly greater diversity index scores than non-HBCUs/HSIs. Diversity index scores of public vs. private colleges did not differ significantly. ConclusionThis diversity index represents an important step in tracking progress in increasing URM student pharmacist representation in CoPs. The index may be utilized as a tool to support development of diversity best practices and more inclusive environments for student pharmacists, faculty, staff, and stakeholders.

Hispanic/Latinx STEM Majors Applying to Graduate School: The Role of Family, Peers, and Undergraduate Research Programs in Facilitating Community Cultural Wealth

ABSTRACT This paper examines the critical transition from undergraduate to graduate biomedical education and focuses on Hispanic/Latinx students who participated in a biomedical undergraduate research program at a Hispanic-Serving Institution located on the US-Mexico border. We use the community cultural wealth (CCW) framework to analyze 13 qualitative interviews about students’ experiences applying to graduate school in biomedical fields and how different program activities allowed students to navigate the graduate school application process. Our findings suggest that different programmatic activities (research experiences, research mentorship, workshops, family involvement, and advising) facilitated students’ graduate school application process by enhancing different types of cultural capital: aspirational, familial, social, navigational, and resistant.

Understanding Latino/a/x Students’ Academic Success at a Hispanic-Serving Institution: The Significance of Personal Dispositions

ABSTRACT This study examines whether racial/ethnic differences in personal dispositions, such as self-efficacy, cultural orientation, habitual explanations for good or poor academic outcomes, and age (as an index of life experience) exist among students enrolled in a general education course at a Hispanic-serving institution (HSI). Furthermore, the study examines the extent to which such dispositions may contribute differently to the academic success of students at such an institution depending on their race/ethnicity. Although the study uncovered only minor racial/ethnic differences in student dispositions, dissimilar patterns of contributions to course-specific performance and cumulative performance (as measured by grade point average) were observed for Latino/a/x/Hispanic and White students. Taken together, these findings suggest the importance of assessing the contribution of variables to academic success above and beyond the mere measurement of group differences. Applications of our findings to students at minority-serving institutions are discussed.

Service-Learning at a Hispanic-Serving Institution: A Preliminary Study

An emerging body of literature seeks to design, implement, and analyze best practices in service-learning at undergraduate universities. What scholars have not examined as well as service-learning as applied to students at Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI's). Given that students at such universities are in unique learning environments, there is a question of how well standard practices in service-learning apply to HSI students. This paper presents the analysis of two semesters’ worth of service-learning requirements in an Introduction to American Politics course at an HSI in Texas. Using the feedback provided by the students on the final course evaluations, I conclude that the current pedagogy applies reasonably well to students at HSI’s, but there are certain areas in which pedagogy should be adjusted to reflect the unique aspects of students at HSI’s, such as accounting for the socioeconomic needs of HSI students.

A Study of Mental Health and the Coping Strategies of College Students in a Hispanic-Serving Institution During the COVID-19 Pandemic

ABSTRACT Mental health conditions were seen to rise during the COVID-19 pandemic as individuals lost loved ones due to the pandemic, lost jobs, and in many cases had to care for elderly and other loved ones. For students, the pandemic also brought the additional challenge of having to transition to online learning. In this study, we investigated the depression and anxiety levels of students in a Hispanic-serving institution and the coping strategies they used to deal with the stress during the pandemic, and the relationship of students’ depression and anxiety levels to their preference of learning and their other demographic characteristics. A survey was administered online via Qualtrics to the students. The depression and anxiety faced by the students in this study could have been attributed to them being majority Latino and economically disadvantaged, which studies have shown to be more disproportionately affected by the pandemic. Students who have taken online courses before were associated with lower depression levels, which may indicate that those who have not taken online courses may have been experiencing more stress with this transition. Students employed approach-based coping strategies instead of avoidance strategies which are known as more positive forms of coping.

Student Stop Out and Retention at a Hispanic-Serving Institution in Southern California: The Role of Background, Academic, and Environmental Factors

This study explores the demographic/background, academic, and environmental factors that predicted student retention after stopping out at a large Hispanic-serving institution in Southern California. The results show that (a) gender, (b) academic background, experience, readiness, and performance, and (c) personal and financial issues predicted retention. We interpret these findings in the context of existing literature and provide suggestions to help institutions develop intervention strategies to promote student retention and “servingness” at HSIs.

Food and housing security at a US Hispanic-Serving Institution: An examination before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

University students occupy a socially marginal position and therefore are often underserved by academic and service institutions. This article analyzes food and housing security among students at The University of Texas at El Paso, a Hispanic-Serving Institution located in the U.S.-Mexico Border region. Findings of a sample of n = 7,633 university students are presented in the first cross-sectional, two-year food and housing security study on campus administered via platform Campus Labs Baseline. The first sample in 2019 consisted of n = 2,615 students representing 10.4% of student enrollment (25,177 total 2019 enrollment), and the second sample in 2020 was n = 5,018 representing 20.2% of student enrollment (24,879 total 2020 enrollment). To measure food security, the six-item short form of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Household Food Security Survey Module was used. To document housing security, we created questions informed by student input. In this study, survey results are reported, and tests are conducted to assess the relationships between various student characteristics and food and housing security. Student characteristics significantly impacting food and housing security are probed further using data visualizations and subpopulation analysis with a focus on analyzing factors impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Results indicate that employment status, consistent employment status, hours per week, academic level, number of dependents, and gender are all factors associated with food security during the pandemic but not prior to the pandemic. Other factors, including, college affiliation, ethnicity/race, having any dependents and being head of household, living alone, mode of campus transportation and mode of the transportation, household income, and age, all were associated with food security in both academic years. Using these results, a critical analysis of past interventions addressing food and housing security is presented with a focus on changes made during the pandemic. Recommendations are made for further data-driven interventions and future steps.

Unmet Healthcare Needs among College Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Implications for System-Wide and Structural Changes for Service Delivery.

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, college students faced health disparities in addition to a negative burden on academic performance; however, little is reported in the literature regarding healthcare utilization. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among consenting college student participants aged 18 or older from a Hispanic-serving institution. Descriptive and bivariate statistics were used to analyze demographic characteristics and the types of healthcare services needed by such characteristics. Logistic regression was used to adjust for noted sex differences in associations between reporting limited healthcare services and types of healthcare services. Results: The study population of 223 participants was mostly Hispanic/Latino (65%) and female (73%). Of the population, 11% reported they could not obtain needed healthcare services, with time being reported as the most common reason. Significant associations were found between seeking general healthcare services/routine screening, seeking mental health services, and seeking sexual health services with reporting limited healthcare services, with sex-adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals of 1.90 (95% CI: 1.08, 3.36), 3.21 (95% CI: 1.44, 4.15), and 2.58 (95% CI: 1.05, 6.35), respectively. Conclusions: Availability and inability to obtain health services may exacerbate college student health disparities. Targeted interventions are needed in the population to mitigate the potential burdens of unmet healthcare needs, particularly among minority college students.

Association between Problematic Social Media Use and Academic Procrastination: The Mediating Role of Mindfulness

ABSTRACT Excessive social media use is a growing concern among educators. However, little research has examined the effects that problematic social media use has on student’s academic procrastination and thereby on academic performance. Thus, this study explored the effects of social media use on students’ academic procrastination and performance, and the degree to which students’ mindfulness mediates these associations. Participants were 233 undergraduate students attending a Hispanic-serving institution. Hierarchical linear regression analyses indicated that problematic social media use significantly predicts academic procrastination. Moreover, the association between problematic social media use and academic procrastination was better explained through mindfulness within academic environments.

Contributive Knowledge Making and Critical Language Awareness: A Justice-Oriented Paradigm for Undergraduate Research at a Hispanic-Serving Institution

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Diversifying the genomic data science research community.

Over the past 20 years, the explosion of genomic data collection and the cloud computing revolution have made computational and data science research accessible to anyone with a web browser and an internet connection. However, students at institutions with limited resources have received relatively little exposure to curricula or professional development opportunities that lead to careers in genomic data science. To broaden participation in genomics research, the scientific community needs to support these programs in local education and research at underserved institutions (UIs). These include community colleges, historically Black colleges and universities, Hispanic-serving institutions, and tribal colleges and universities that support ethnically, racially, and socioeconomically underrepresented students in the United States. We have formed the Genomic Data Science Community Network to support students, faculty, and their networks to identify opportunities and broaden access to genomic data science. These opportunities include expanding access to infrastructure and data, providing UI faculty development opportunities, strengthening collaborations among faculty, recognizing UI teaching and research excellence, fostering student awareness, developing modular and open-source resources, expanding course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs), building curriculum, supporting student professional development and research, and removing financial barriers through funding programs and collaborator support.

Increasing Access and Enhancing Transition Experiences of Transfer Students in a 2+2 Program: A Descriptive Case Study

Transfer agreements between institutions have existed for decades, but a newer 2+2 model provides pathways to bachelor's degree completion for students who initially applied to 4-year institutions but were not admitted. Most literature on these programs focuses on how articulation agreements and dual-admissions processes provide a gateway to baccalaureate degree attainment. Scant academic literature has focused on how institutional partnering programs facilitate the transfer process for students. This descriptive case study examined one dual-admission transfer program at a large Hispanic-Serving Institution and offers implications for practice, future research, and program design.

Review of "Literacy as Conversation: Learning Networks in Urban and Rural Communities by Eli Goldblatt and David A. Jolliffe" Goldblatt, E., &amp; Jolliffe, D. A. (2020). University Of Pittsburgh Press.

Eli Goldblatt and David A. Jolliffe's 2020 Literacy as Conversation: Learning Networks in Urban and Rural Communities is to be interpreted as a "book of essays" and, more importantly, as vivid and lived conversations that aim to showcase nearly three decades of friendship between two colleagues concerned about meaningful community participation and literacy. This collection captures their reflections on their participation in community-based projects within the urban neighborhoods of Philadelphia and rural and semirural towns of Arkansas, but also offers an expanded and active understanding of literacy as social practice with complex relationships between sponsors, learning networks, power, and taking place in non-school environments having an access point through conversation and written symbols. Goldblatt and Jolliffe's endeavor to highlight the social connections and complexity of literacy aligns with their intent to include not just scholars in higher education, but also "everyday folk" or ordinary people including educators, government officials and policy makers, and people from all walks of life. As a scholar of color and teacher of a Hispanic-serving institution and as a community member of a predominantly Hispanic city in Texas, I was immediately intrigued and captured by the authors' commitment to highlight the stories of people who persevere and design interventions to construct hope and shape themselves and the world into a better place.

Reflective Practice: Adult Student Engagement in Character Education

This paper outlines how I assessed and revised a proprietary character education program of study administered to non-traditional students attending an accelerated academic program at a Hispanic-Serving Institution. John Dewey’s reflection practice doctrine provided the theoretical foundation and lens for conducting the analysis. Given the unique characteristics associated with non-traditional students, three main challenges are outlined: (1) students matriculate at varying levels of academic readiness and moral development, (2) there is low student engagement rate in character education, and (3) there is limited time for ethical instruction in a full academic curriculum and busy student lives. The reflection process included quantitative data from the Defining Issues Test-2 and qualitative data from observations, student and staff responses, and interviews. The presentation concludes with key takeaways and recommendations for future research.

Hispanic students in higher education: A case for trauma informed approaches

ABSTRACT This secondary study focused on Hispanic college students’ experiences with the COVID-19 pandemic and their academic success with instructors who implemented trauma-informed approaches and sought to add to the knowledge base of the literature to support the necessity of establishing trauma-informed policies and pedagogical practices in Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs). Data from an exploratory study conducted in the summer 2020 semester at a small, private, HSI was utilized (N = 309). Most participants were Hispanic Nonwhite (65%). Results indicate that among all racial/ethnic group participants, Hispanic participants were more likely to have experienced a family member or close friend who died from the COVID-19 virus, X 2 (3, N = 297) = 10.1, p= .017. Additionally, Hispanic participants reported an increase in stress (44%), anxiety (38%), and depression (29%). Finally, there was a statistically significant difference in Hispanic participant expected grade outcomes compared to all other races when instructors implemented trauma-informed practices X2 (1, N = 234) = 5.964, p = .01. The ultimate goal of higher education institutions is to ensure academic success for students. Utilizing trauma-informed approaches in higher education will help generate safe, supportive, and respectful environments that have been shown to positively effect academic success.

Using a multi-module web-app to prevent substance use among students at a Hispanic Serving Institution: development and evaluation design

BackgroundDespite effective strategies to prevent substance use and substance use disorders among college students, challenges remain. As young adults’ preference for and comfortability with web-based technology continues to increase, leveraging innovative approaches to rapidly evolving mHealth technology is critical for the success of lowering the risk for substance use and related consequences in college populations, and especially those at Hispanic Serving Institutions. Therefore, the present study describes the rationale, development, and design of iSTART, a novel web-app to prevent substance use among students.MethodsThe web-app was developed following the intervention mapping protocol, and in collaboration with numerous stakeholders, including a community-based partner specializing in substance abuse prevention and treatment. A 30-day multi-module web-app intervention was developed based on key theoretical constructs, behavior change strategies, and practical module components: attitudes (knowledge), perceived susceptibility (risk perceptions), subjective norms (normative re-education), and self-efficacy (refusal skills). This intervention will be evaluated via a time series design using a sample of 600 students randomly assigned to either the intervention, comparison, or control condition at a public institution in southern California.DiscussionThe iSTART web-app is an innovative and sustainable program ideal for college campuses with diverse student populations. If this prevention web-app is successful, it will significantly contribute to the evidence of effective substance use interventions in the college setting, and identify the benefits of mHealth programs to prevent future substance use.Trial registrationNCT05362357 retrospectively registered on May 4, 2022 on clinicaltrials.gov.

Centeringservingness: Framework‐informed assessment of Hispanic‐Serving Institutions

AbstractThis article discusses the utility of two frameworks, the Seal of Excelencia Framework and the Multidimensional Conceptual Framework for Understanding Servingness in Hispanic‐Serving Institutions (HSIs), for critically assessing HSIs. Two HSIs, University of Arizona (UA) and University of Central Florida (UCF), discuss their engagement of these frameworks, insights, and actions that resulted, and offer recommendations for the use and expansion of these frameworks.