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1. Engineering Students Conceptions of The Hidden Curriculum in Hispanic-Serving Institutions: Learning to Inform Practice

   Villanueva Alarcon, I.; Elizabeth Sunny, C. (January 2022, American Society of Engineering Education)

   Hidden Curriculum (HC) consists of the unacknowledged and often, unintentional exclusionary systemic messages that are structurally supported and sustained [1]. Due to the persistent influence of HC in helping establish the norm in educational and working environments, research in this topic is gaining prominence in fields like engineering. This paper contributes to the knowledge base by exploring the level of HC awareness (HCA) and the definitions that over 600 undergraduate engineering students across Hispanic-Serving and non-Hispanic Serving Institutions ascribed to when defining HC. Using mixed-methods analysis, two-factor ANOVA was conducted on the quantitative items of HCA, at the intersection of self-identified gender and institutional type. The first round of coding was followed by open and axial coding of the written definitions provided by the participants. Results suggest there were significant differences in levels of HCA between HSIs and non-HSIs with other institutions (e.g, HEIs) having the highest levels of HCA. The responses to the open-ended question yielded four specific themes: (a) Confirmation of Existence of HC; (b) Attribution of HC to Cognitive Elements; (c) Attribution of HC to Socio-Humanistic Elements; and (d) Refusal of Existence of HC. A discussion of its implications was included in this paper. 

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2. Competence of Faculty, Staff, and Administrators in Hispanic Culture: Evidence from Three Surveys of Personnel and Students at Hispanic-Serving Institutions

   Preuss, M. (December 2019, International Journal of Research in Education and Science)

   Noroozi, O (Ed.)

   Survey data were gathered from college and university faculty, staff, and administrators at Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) regarding Hispanic culture and Hispanic students as part of an NSF-funded investigation that focused on the characteristics and programming of HSIs as well as the background and experiences of their students. Two surveys of students were also conducted. A minimum of 44 HSIs in Texas, New Mexico, and Colorado were represented in the 393 usable responses gathered from faculty, staff, and administrators. Fourteen HSIs in New Mexico and Texas were represented in student survey data gathered in 2018 and three in north Texas in a survey completed in 2019. Responses from 213 Hispanic students were isolated from the 2018 student survey and 307 from the 2019 data. This material was used to verify and expand on the findings from the survey of faculty, staff, and administrators. A consistent and strong difference of opinion was found between Hispanic faculty, staff, and administrators at the HSIs and their non-Hispanic peers regarding information available to higher education professionals about Hispanic culture, the elements of Hispanic culture, and the characteristics and background of Hispanic students. Survey responses of Hispanic students confirmed, at many points, that the perspective of the Hispanic faculty, staff, and administrators was accurate. It appears, based on this information, that the non-Hispanic employees at the HSIs were less well informed about Hispanic culture and a major portion of their student population than would be desirable. The findings, while from the south-central United States, can inform multiple academic and support services at Hispanic-Serving Institutions and other colleges and universities as they include information about how Hispanic culture is understood by Hispanics, detail gaps in competence regarding Hispanic culture among faculty, staff, and administrators at HSIs, and describe characteristics and the cultural orientation of Hispanic students attending the HSIs in the sample. 

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3. Centering Hispanic-Serving Institutions' strategies to advance computer science attainment

   https://doi.org/doi/full/10.1080/25729861.2020.1842582  

   Núñez, A.-M. (January 2021, Tapuya)

   Rodriguez Medina, L. (Ed.)

   Hispanics have become the largest ethnic minority in the US Better serving Hispanics to succeed in tertiary education and scientific fields like computing is critical to build equitable life opportunities and strengthen the US workforce. Typically, the most selective postsecondary institutions are emphasized as exemplary models for developing human capital in the US. Yet, due to the nation’s tertiary education institutional stratification, relatively low numbers of Hispanics are enrolled in these institutions. We examine how Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), federally designated institutions in the US that enroll at least 25% Hispanics, develop strategies to raise Hispanic attainment in computing fields. Specifically, we explore the activities of HSIs in the Computing Alliance for Hispanic-Serving Institutions (CAHSI), a network of over 60 HSIs and other stakeholders that are committed to raising Hispanic attainment in postsecondary computing. We address the question: How do HSIs in CAHSI employ strategies to develop talent in computing among Hispanics? Specifically, we examine how CAHSI institutions apply values that are grounded in Hispanic communities, including emphases on confianza, respeto, and familia, to support Hispanic students in computer science. Our findings indicate the importance of centering Hispanic cultural assets to improve Hispanic success in computing. 

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4. HSI Students' Experience with "Servingness" During COVID-19

   Hug, S.; Jurow, A.; Thiry, H. (January 2021, Dialogues in social justice)

   In March of 2020, higher education institutions across the U.S. closed their doors and converted to remote and online learning due to the COVID-19 health crisis. As the country adjusted to the “new normal” of living and working at home, the economic and psychological impact of self-isolation and business closures were felt strongly by those who were most economically and socially vulnerable. In this context, the evaluation team of the Computing Alliance of Hispanic Serving Institutions (CAHSI) implemented a survey of students studying computer science at Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) across the country to understand the impact of COVID-19 on their lives. In this paper, we identify the contexts in which students at HSIs continued (or failed to continue) their academic pursuits under great hardship. Our analysis highlights how the multidimensional framework of “servingness,” defined as a critical organizational, interactional, and ideological approach that many HSIs use to support their students, was experienced by students during the pandemic (Garcia et al., 2019). We argue that the practices and structures of servingness contributed to sustaining students’ well-being, dignity, and learning amid uncertainty. 

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5. Hispanic-Serving Institutions in the South-Central United States: A Research Report for Los Barrios de Amarillo

   Preuss, M. D. (January 2019, West Texas Office of Evaluation and Research)

   Nearly two-thirds of the Hispanic/Latinx college students in the United States attend Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI). Yet, very little research has been conducted regarding these colleges and universities. To address this concern, a sequential, exploratory investigation was conducted with funding from the National Science Foundation (award 1764268). Material from the literature and qualitative data gathered in focus groups and semi-structured interviews were used to create surveys that were administered to employees and students at HSIs in a seven-state region of the south-central United States. This research report presents findings from the survey of faculty, staff, and administrators completed as part of the investigative process in the late spring of 2018. The survey was distributed to 119 Hispanic-Serving Institutions. A total of 494 persons from Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, and Texas accessed the survey. There were 403 complete response sets representing as many as 60 of the HSIs. Results are presented in a wide variety of topic areas as there were 68 questions on the survey, many of which were multi-part queries. Major content areas are as follows: (1) an overview regarding Hispanics in the United States and in higher education, (2) discussion of the importance of HSIs to and Hispanic/Latinx students in higher education, (3) commentaries regarding key topic areas in the report, (4) institutional characteristics of the HSIs in the sample (e.g., staffing, facilities, key program offerings), (5) perceptions the faculty, staff, and administrators had of Hispanic/Latinx cultural values and Hispanic students, (6) academic, student support, and career placement systems present to aid students, (7) STEM outreach offerings, (8) patterns of intra- and inter-institutional collaboration, (9) perceived limitations for HSIs, (10) practices relevant to evaluation of institutional processes and programming, and (11) grant-seeking activity. Appendices include information about the conference at which the research was initiated, a detailed description of the research methodology, the focus group and interview question sets, the full survey, and detailed data tables listing the results of statistical analyses completed. Conclusions are stated for the six topic areas in which the most information was gathered. These are the characteristics and qualifications of the employees at the HSIs, differences found between community colleges and four-year institutions, employees' understanding of Hispanic/Latinx cultural values and students and, in particular, differences in this area found along ethnic lines, the levels of support programming offered specific to Hispanic students, patterns of intra- and inter-institutional collaboration noted, and staffing, practices, and programming related to grants. 

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