Sacramento State is one of a few schools to receive this national honor. Here’s what it’s for
Sacramento State has received its Seal of Excelencia, again, — a nationwide certification that highlights a commitment to Latino students and their successes.
The university on Friday became one of a select few institutions to be given the honor a second time by Excelencia in Education, an organization that promotes Latino student achievement. Sacramento State was first awarded with the seal in 2020. At the time, it was one of 14 schools in the country. That number has since grown to 32.
The honor first launched in 2019, with the goal to highlight universities intentionally serving its Latino community. Every three years, a school must reapply for certification. Sacramento State is only the second California school to be recertified.
“Receiving the Seal of Excelencia provides the university the opportunity to reconfirm and demonstrate our strong continuing commitment to inclusive excellence and exceeding expectation,” said Sacramento State President Luke Wood.
In 2015, Sacramento State was recognized as a Hispanic-Serving Institution — a designation much more common among educational institutions.
There were 572 institutions across the country that met the definition in 2021-22, according to the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities. The status signifies that at least 25% of the school’s student body is Latino, making it eligible for federal grants and new programs.
The rise is attributed to an overall increase in the enrollment and concentration of Hispanics in colleges around the country. But schools with that designation often fail to live up to the name.
The HSI label is solely numbers-based, said Amber Gonzalez, a professor of child and adolescent development at Sacramento State. And though grants are focused on Latino and low-income students, the federal government does not require they specifically benefit Hispanics.
Seal of Excelencia certified universities must demonstrate an overview of their impact on Latino students through graduation rates, recruitment, leadership and financial aid. They must also provide upcoming goals for university and its work.
“The recertification is about intentionally using an asset-based approach to think about how are we serving our Latine students,” Gonzalez said. “And because it’s a self assessment, it’s not only about what are you doing today but it’s also about what are your goals for tomorrow.”
Graduation and enrollment rates have particularly grown for the university in recent years.
In 2012, the four-year graduation rate was 9% for Latinos. The rate rose to 28% by 2018. And for Latino undergraduate student enrollment, the rates increased from 32% in fall 2019 to 39% in fall 2022.
Sacramento State has a history of supporting the Latino student population including its college migrant assistance program, the second oldest in the nation. The university also offers a Dreamer resource center for undocumented students, and a Serna Center to enhance Latino leadership and civic engagement.
Still, some at Sacramento State see the certification as a chance to continue building on that reputation.
“It gives us an opportunity to identify where we still have work left to do, and to address those gaps and intentionally to continue to do the work that we’ve built on for the last few years,” said Erik Ramirez, director of Equity and Affinity Centers on campus.
