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In the US, it is a well-known and recognized fact that students from underrepresented groups have suffered longstanding inequities in educational settings. This includes entrance into and success within the higher education system (Adwere-Boamah, 2015; National Science Board, 2020; Whittaker & Montgomery, 2012). The enormous growth in the Hispanic population of the United States and the growth of the Hispanic population in the higher education system has made the imbalance more evident (Gramlich, 2017; National Center for Education Statistics, 2020). Despite being the largest minority group in the country (US Census Bureau, 2021) and in higher education (Postsecondary National Policy Institute, 2021), persistence in college and degree completion rates paralleling that of persons who identify with a White, European background has not evolved (Chun et al., 2016; Gramlich, 2017). These disparities emphasize the need to understand the characteristics of Hispanic/Latinx students in order to better serve their needs in general and in all spheres of education. As a result, an increasing number of studies are focusing on the background, experiences, and perspectives of Hispanic/Latinx individuals and students in a variety of settings and contexts (Champagne et al., 2016; Flores & Park, 2015: Ramos et al., 2021; Rodriguez Amaya et al., 2018; Zhan & Xiang, 2018). 

College students at 14 Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) in New Mexico and Texas were surveyed about their experiences in and perceptions of higher education. Three primary foci were students’ employment status, work commitments, and means of financing college. Most of the informants reported working while in college and, similar to previously reported national averages, 69.4% of the informants were actively employed. Twice as many of the actively employed informants worked off campus as on campus and over three-quarters of employed students reported working part-time. There were no significance differences in these areas by gender, ethnicity, or even when broken out as Latinas, Latinos, non-Hispanic females and non-Hispanic males but students of non-traditional age reported a work commitment at significantly higher levels. For hours of work per week, there were also no significant differences by gender, ethnicity, and for the four possible subsets (Latinas, Latinos, etc.) but being a non-traditional aged student and being married/cohabiting were associated with working more hours at statistically significant levels. Students at the HSIs in New Mexico also reported more hours of work at statistically significant levels. Differences by gender, ethnicity, age, relational status, and state were found for means of funding college. 

Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) educate nearly two-thirds of the Hispanic/Latinx students who attend college. Yet little is known about the student populations they serve. Findings from two NSF-funded surveys completed with students at 14 HSIs in Texas and New Mexico in 2018 and four HSIs in TX in 2019 are presented. The combined sample was 1,293 students. A description of the backgrounds, commitments, experiences, and preferences of students at HSIs and differences found between responses from Hispanic/Latinx and non-Hispanic students are discussed. Primary topic areas are demographics, first-generation student standing, cultural orientation, primary language and fluency in Spanish, family and work commitments, relationship status, family support, living arrangements, means of financing college, course load, STEM identity, annual income of household of origin and of personal household, locus of control orientation, familism, and experience in college. The result is a thorough and up-to-date profile of the HSI student population in TX and NM. Statistical analysis revealed multiple significant differences between Hispanic/Latinx and non- Hispanic students attending the HSIs and the presence of several significant predictors for forms of activity and patterns of commitment. The findings are immediately applicable to process, program, student support, and instructional planning, implementation, and evaluation for over 120 HSIs in the region and, by extension, to hundreds more across the United States. 

A sense that there are a limited number of role models at colleges and universities for Hispanic and other minority students has been a concern of researchers in higher education for a number of years but little is actually known about who Hispanic students consider a role model. Similarly, researchers have investigated the impact of mentoring relationships on success in college and persistence for majority and minority students, yet little is known of the preferences students studying at Hispanic-Serving Institutions have regarding mentors and whether Hispanic students at these institutions have expectations that differ from those of their peers. An NSFfunded investigation gathered data in both these areas. Findings from two surveys, one with responses from 464 students at 14 Hispanic-Serving Institutions and the other with responses from 746 students at a comprehensive, regional state university and two community colleges from which the university receives transfer students, are discussed. The first survey set the context for the second and its sample came from colleges and universities in New Mexico and Texas. The sample for the second survey is isolated to north Texas. On the first survey, students at HSIs were asked three general questions about mentors, to select types of individuals they saw as role models from a list of six short descriptions and to select all that applied from a list of eight characteristics desired in role models. The second survey included similar patterns but all the questions targeted mentors and mentoring relationships. Responses on both surveys include three primary findings. At the HSIs represented, the preferences of Hispanic students regarding role models and mentors are different from their non-Hispanic peers in several key ways. Their preferences appear to be related to cultural identity and to primary language for those who have English as their second language. The Hispanic students in the second survey were also more likely than their non-Hispanic peers to submit low ratings of the understanding representatives of their institution had of the student’s culture. This occured for all forms of engagement listed: advising/mentoring, instruction, tutoring, financial aid assistance, scholarship services, career services, and student organizations. 

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. 

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.