Excelencia in Education, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating Latinx student success, announced the newest cohort of colleges and universities to earn its prestigious
Seal of Excelencia, recognizing several CSUs as leaders in improving higher educational achievement for Latinx students.
For 2024,
Cal State East Bay,
Cal State San Bernardino,
San Francisco State and
CSU San Marcos were newly certified as Seal of
Excelencia institutions while
Fresno State,
Cal State Fullerton and
San Diego State were recertified for another three years. In total, 12 CSUs currently hold the Seal of
Excelencia, including CSU Channel Islands, Cal State Long Beach, Cal State LA, CSUN and Sacramento State.
Seal certification remains valid for three years, after which institutions have the opportunity to recertify progress.
This year's cohort of newly certified and recertified institutions belongs to a community of 46 colleges and universities that have earned the Seal. Together, they represent less than 1% of all institutions but enroll 17% and graduate 19% of all Latinx students nationwide, according to
Excelencia.
“The colleges and universities that earn the Seal of Excelencia lead the charge in meeting our nation's degree attainment goals," said Deborah Santiago, co-founder and CEO of Excelencia in Education. “They demonstrate commitment to Latino student success through impact and ongoing self-assessment."
The organization created the Seal in 2018 to certify trendsetting colleges and universities for their efforts to become learning environments where Latinx, and all, students thrive. Beyond the Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) designation, which considers enrollment numbers alone, the Seal of Excelencia framework requires institutions to innovate and implement approaches to accelerate Latinx student success with intentionality. By focusing efforts on evidence-based practices, Seal-certified colleges and universities catalyze meaningful change and outcomes for their Latinx populations.
A CSUF graduate program,
Project upGRADS, was also included in
Excelencia's 2024 list of “Examples of
Excelencia," which highlights programs that are empowering Latinx students and improving their outcomes through culturally relevant and data-driven efforts.
Three CSU programs—at Chico State, CSUF and CSUN—received recognition from
Excelencia's 2023 "Examples of Excelencia" awards, and a
spring 2024 publication from
Excelencia highlighted several additional CSU programs that are leading efforts to improve higher educational achievement for Latinx students.
Close to half of the CSU's 450,000 students identify as Hispanic/Latinx, and 21 of CSU's 23 universities are nationally recognized as Hispanic-Serving Institutions, a designation for colleges and universities with an enrollment of at least 25% Hispanic/Latinx students that enables schools to seek additional federal funding to support these students.
The CSU's leaders also reflect the unique identities of its community members. Read more about the CSU's Latinx leaders in a special
Hispanic Heritage Month Q&A. And hear what Fresno State President Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval and CSU Channel Islands President Richard Yao have to say about their respective universities' commitment to intentionally serving Latinx students.
Learn more about the CSU's efforts to
advance Latinx student success.