Journal of Hispanic Higher Education

This study centered Latine student voices as co-researchers to explore what it means for a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSIs) to serve them and support their success. Utilizing a photovoice methodology with six Latine undergraduate co-researchers at a 4-year HSI in Northern California, student co-researchers identified a desire for a college experience that centered their identity development and degree attainment and underscored the role of culturally affirming environments in their experiences.

This study examined Specifications Grading, an alternative grading system emphasizing clearly defined learning outcomes and revision, and mathematics identity among 846 Latin* Calculus I students at a Hispanic-Serving Institution. Mathematics identity, comprising competence/performance, recognition, and interest, was measured at the beginning and end of the semester. Repeated-measures analyses indicated stable competence/performance and recognition alongside declines in interest. Specifications Grading was associated with increased mathematics identity, and multilingual students experienced smaller declines than their peers overall.

This case study examines the partnership between a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) and a Latinx-majority K-12 district to improve local college access without external funding. Using a Latinx-informed framework for community engagement, findings highlight the role of collective responsibility, local ties, and authentic partnership. The study offers new insights for P-20 education and colleges navigating their HSI mission amid federal threats to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

This collaborative autoethnography, Pa’lante!, explores three AfroLatina doctoral students’ experiences resisting anti-Blackness and reclaiming diasporic pride while navigating the U.S. higher education system. Grounded in García Peña’s use of vaivénes and Yosso’s Community Cultural Wealth Model, we examine how AfroLatina identity shapes educational journeys and doctoral research. Through personal narratives and collective reflexivity, we illuminate persistent barriers and successes, advocating for systemic changes to foster inclusive, supportive environments for AfroLatine scholars in academia.

Using 2018, pre-pandemic survey data, this study provides the first Chilean portrait of university climate. A structural model shows that mattering and validating interactions with faculty are primary forces in cultivating students’ sense of belonging. Even though the broader institutional climate was a weak predictor of persistence plans, these immediate, human-scale relationships were central to explain students’ sense of belonging. This research offers a new framework for understanding early student perceptions of climate at Chilean universities.

This evaluative study employed a case study design to identify key components of a professional development initiative developed by the Texas-based Ascender Program, which worked with Latinxs and low-income, first-generation students. A key finding was that the Ascender Professional Development Program (APDP) was centered on equity, cariño (caring), and validation. This led to the creation of a conceptual model for the APDP. Future professional development programs can benefit from these findings.

This four-semester investigation of 141 Colombian international relations students identified a cognitive exchange associated with ChatGPT-4 usage. AI-using students showed improved strategic thinking (d = 0.99) but deteriorated critical thinking (d = −1.31). Analytical delegation strongly predicted critical decline (r = −.72), while verification offered moderate protection. Effects intensified temporally, suggesting cumulative cognitive consequences.

This paper examines how higher education (HE) policy and institutional frameworks in Colombia respond to the aspirations, experiences, and definitions of success of Indigenous students from rural and remote communities. Drawing on a structured review of literature informed by decolonial theory, the study analyses the ways in which Western-centric HE paradigms shape access, participation, and outcomes for rural and remote Indigenous students, often privileging market-driven notions of success over culturally grounded aspirations. The findings highlight persistent structural barriers related to geography, language, curriculum relevance, and institutional recognition, as well as the active role of Indigenous organisations in challenging these limitations through intercultural and Indigenous-led HE initiatives. The paper argues that meaningful inclusion in HE requires moving beyond access-based policies towards approaches that recognize Indigenous epistemologies, collective aspirations, and rural contexts as central to educational success.

Amid the growth of Hispanic-serving institution (HSI) scholarship, we analyzed the nature of recommendations across more than 20 years of HSI peer-reviewed articles. Specifically, we identify the types of recommendations authors offer and to whom they offer this guidance and consider what this suggests about the potential of this research to serve HSIs. Ultimately, we offer implications for researchers, graduate program faculty, and journal editors and reviewers, including proposing the Guide for Actionable Recommendations (GFAR).

This phenomenological study examines how Latino men at 4-year institutions navigate racial microaggressions and hostile campus climates. Findings reveal that students experience exclusion from peers and institutional agents, impacting their academic and emotional well-being. Identity-based student organizations emerged as critical counter-spaces, fostering cultural affirmation, mentorship, and resilience. These findings underscore the need for institutions to cultivate inclusive environments that affirm Latino men’s identities and support their persistence in higher education.

This research investigates the impact of Colombia’s flagship public university on academic and labor market outcomes. Utilizing a regression discontinuity design, findings reveal that admitted applicants significantly increase their enrollment probabilities, graduate rates, labor market entry, and wages compared to marginally non-admitted candidates. These results underscore the misconception that private institutions are superior, indicating that quality education outcomes are linked to institutional quality, whether public or private, and highlight the need for equitable resource distribution.

The transition to college is a critical period for Hispanic students, often accompanied by disrupted health habits and the risk of the “freshman 15.” Using data from students at a Hispanic-Serving Institution, this study investigated factors associated with the probability of weight gain during the first year. Logistic regression analyses assessed the association between behavioral, contextual, and lifestyle factors and a binary outcome of weight gain status. Employment status, fast food consumption, vending machine access, stress-related eating, and substance use were significant predictors. Findings highlight that behavioral and contextual factors—rather than demographic characteristics alone—play a central role in explaining the risk of “freshman 15,” providing insight for targeted prevention strategies during the college transition.

This paper contributes to the emerging scholarly conversation of context-specific servingness research that highlights the voices of students. Specifically, this paper focuses on 14 undergraduate and graduate students’ understandings and experiences concerning servingness at their local setting, a fronterizx Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI). Our findings suggest that location plays a vital role in how undergraduate and graduate students understand and experience servingness. Moreover, indicators of servingness at a fronterizx HSI call for: understanding border commuting and intersectionality as core features of servingness; acknowledging dynamic languaging practices of the fronterizx community; and transforming higher education through greater representation of the border culture.

This study examines determinants of academic performance at a major Ecuadorian university. Results show that sex, parental education, and secondary school type strongly influence achievement, while early low performance predicts dropout risk. Significant variance across schools reflects institutional effects. Practical implications include early academic support, preparatory programs, and early alert systems to improve retention and promote equity in higher education.

Immigration-impacted college students, including undocumented students and U.S. citizens with undocumented parents, struggle with food and essential needs insecurity. Drawing on focus groups with 38 immigration-impacted undergraduates, we examine barriers to campus essential needs resource use and investigate the extent to which self or parental immigration status influences use. Findings reveal structural, psychological, and operational barriers and highlight how institutional trust, peer networks, and culturally responsive practices can facilitate more equitable access to resources.

Food insecurity continues to be a significant problem on college campuses, specifically within minoritized populations such as Latina Students. This paper analyzes how Latina students from low socio-economic status (LSES) backgrounds navigate food insecurity at selective, normatively affluent universities through the framework of Community Cultural Wealth. Our analysis shows how interpersonal relationships are key to managing food resources. Further, particular forms of capital—such as aspirational capital—provided the impetus for other forms of capital, such as navigational capital.

To increase persistence, many universities provide first-year seminars (FYS) for entering students. Although there have been consistent positive outcomes for FYS participants, many times, the research is based on short-term outcomes, or less rigorous analysis. This study assessed short- and long-term outcomes for Hispanic (n = 456) and Hispanic first-generation students (n = 350) who participated in a research-based academic FYS. FYS participants had significantly higher outcomes in first-term GPA, 1-year persistence and graduation rates.