SRJC is proud to be formally designated as a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) since 2014 and embraces our identity as an HSI serving students. The United States Higher Education Act defines a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) as an accredited and eligible degree-granting college with at least 25% undergraduate full-time equivalent Hispanic enrollment at the end of the award year immediately preceding the date of application. Designated by the U.S. Department of Education, the HSI designation allows colleges to be eligible for federal grant funding to support Latinx students in higher education, recognized as Title V, Developing Hispanic Serving Institution and Title III STEM grants.

Being an HSI-designated college is so much more than receiving a grant. It is about developing an integrated infrastructure to support and meet the needs of our college community and creating an environment where students feel seen and can transform their lives.

SRJC is focused on building a sense of belonging, expanding services for our Latinx, first-generation, and low-income communities, and transforming our systems with an equity-advancing lens through two HSI-funded initiatives called Lanzamiento and Avanzando.

Hispanic-Servicing Institution (HSI) Transformation Team Project

A multi-constituent, HSI Transformation Team was formed in Fall of 2023 to begin an action research project with leading HSI scholar, Dr. Gina Ann Garcia, of UC Berkeley’s School of Education. The project is funded by the Student Experience Research Network (SERN) and explores the organizational framework presented in the book, Transforming Hispanic Serving Institutions for Equity and Justice (Garcia, 2023).  The team has reviewed policies, procedures, and practices to create more intentionality around SRJC’s capacity as a Hispanic-Serving Institution. Members of the team will present some of their findings at an HSI summit hosted at UC Davis in April of 2024.