California State University HSI Action Research Network
The CSU Hispanic Serving Institution Action Research Network brings together faculty, staff and student stakeholders from eight CSU campuses designated as HSIs. Together, the network aims to facilitate conversations on how the CSU system can go beyond enrolling high numbers of Latine students to serving these students.
The Network uses a participatory action research approach to examine ongoing HSI work on each campus supporting Latine students, including specific policies and practices, to identify cross-campus best practices. We aim to identify specific policies and practices that can be changed as well as a process to evaluate how these changes impact the holistic success of Latine students and their communities. We aim to utilize an iterative process of research to transform our own institutions and the CSU system.
This Network began in 2023 and is funded by the College Futures Foundation. The Network is not a program of the CSU system or individual campuses and does not represent the views of the system or the represented campuses.
An Opportunity for Transformation
As the largest 4-year public university system in the U.S., where 42% of undergraduates identify as Latine, the California State University (CSU) system is uniquely positioned to lead a nationwide transformation in higher education. With 21 of its 23 campuses designated as Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), the CSU system has the opportunity to set a national example for serving Latine students effectively. However, the CSU system, like the national portrait, continues to see gaps in four- and six-year graduation rates between White and Latine students, at around 12 percentage points (Campaign for College Opportunity, 2023). The federal HSI designation is based solely on enrollment percentages and does not provide guidance on ways to serve Latine students (Garcia et al., 2019; Nuñez et al., 2015). Thus, the CSU system offers a context where the higher education system can be transformed at scale and lessons that can be brought to other HSIs – of which there are 178 4-year public postsecondary institutions across the nation that serve approximately two thirds of Latine undergraduate students (Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, 2024).