Otter Student Union

HSI Week event attendees gathered together showing off their handmade crafts

HSI Week 2024

What is an HSI and why is it important?

HSI stands for Hispanic Serving Institutions and the U.S. Department of Education designates eligible higher education institutions as “Hispanic-serving” if they have enrollments of undergraduate Hispanic full-time equivalent (FTE) students that total at least 25% of the institution’s total undergraduate FTE enrollment at the end of the award year for which the institution applies for the designation. 

CSUMB was designated an Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) in 1998, about 25 years later, we hosted the first HSI week on campus. The week, according to the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU), is designed to heighten awareness of the important role HSIs play in improving access to education and advancing equity for traditionally underserved students. 

For the HSI Week Committee, our goals are to: 

  1. Raise awareness of campus resources, departments, and centers that can offer support and culturally enriching experiences. We also want to
  2. Highlight the creative work, achievements and activism of our diverse community. 
  3. Continue to center our students and ensure that servingness at CSUMB is intentional. 

While HSI week centers on Latine identity, we recognize the intersectional identities, diversity within and throughout our campus community and want to hold space for all our experiences and continued efforts to best serve our students.

Schedule of Events

In celebration and honor of HSI Week, join us each day the week of September 9-21, 2024 for a variety of events and programs. Check out the schedule below and register on MyRaft. Stop by the library throughout the week to check out the book display in celebration of Hispanic Serving Institutions Week and Hispanic Heritage Month!

Sponsors for HSI Week 2024 include the METAS Grant, MAESTROS Project, Otter Student Union, Otter Cross Cultural Center, Associated Students, Makerspace, CSUMB Latinx Faculty and Staff Colectiva, Center for Latinx Student Success (El Centro), TRIO, Transfer Student Success Center, Cooperative Learning Center, Otter Kitchens, Student Housing and Residential Life, Project Rebound, Student Engagement Leadership Development, Second Year Experience, Undocu-Success, Basic Needs, Helen Rucker Center for Black Excellence, Family Friendly Group, and the Parents with Young Children Affinity Group.

All HSI Week events and programs are open to all Cal State Monterey Bay students, faculty, staff, administrators, and alumni.

In the spirit of transforming Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI), Monterey Peninsula College and Cal State Monterey Bay have collaborated to celebrate HSI-week, September 9-21, 2024 , by showcasing literature and online resources about the experiences of Hispanic and Latino/a/x groups. We aim to empower students, staff, and faculty in our local higher education institutions to increase their commitment to access and success for our Latino/a/x students.

CSUMB and MPC HIspanic Heritage Joint Library Resource Guide

CSUMB Grants

CSUMB has received over $30 million in grant funds since 1998. Some of those grant efforts launched programs that are now staples of our institution: 

Learn More

A Hispanic-Serving Institution, coined in 1986, is a not-for-profit college or university with a full-time equivalent (FTE) undergraduate enrollment of at least 25% Hispanic. After years of advocacy HSIs were recognized federally under the Higher Education Act and legislation was passed to provide appropriations for capacity building and strengthening institutions. All of which would not have been possible without the painstaking efforts of our Black/African American leaders and activists during the civil rights movement which led to the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Learn more about HSI 

History, Servingness, and Federal Funds American Council on Education 

California State University’s HSIs

A California Briefing on 25 Years of HSIs Excelencia in Education

Organizations

Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) 

Association of Hispanic Serving Institutions Educators (AHSIE)

Excelencia in Education

ESCALA Education Services 

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