Last week, a diverse group of university community members gathered for a Hispanic-Serving Institution Task Force Meeting — reinforcing and formalizing our commitment to becoming an HSI. Securing this designation is a focus area of Designing DePaul, our collaborative effort that includes all university partners and communities working together to plan DePaul’s future.
Becoming an HSI will open the door to federal funds that will help all DePaul students by expanding and enhancing the academic offerings, program quality, and institutional stability of DePaul.
Over a dozen Task Force members — including individuals from Student Affairs, Enrollment Management and others representing faculty, leadership, staff and students, attended the virtual meeting. They shared ideas to help DePaul attain HSI status, which means reaching an enrollment of at least 25% Hispanic students in our undergraduate population.
At the meeting, President Rob Manuel reminded us how this, along with every Designing DePaul initiative, can positively affect our mission and connect us to contemporary issues in today’s world. One thing was clear — everyone in the virtual room was committed to enriching the experience of both existing and future DePaul students. Among our goals is to prepare institutionally to support our students holistically. It is not enough to achieve our goal of 25% Hispanic students and be done. We must be prepared to serve these new students and all students to make sure their time at DePaul is successful.
HSI designation is not a quick achievement — nor should it be. We are addressing the criteria to prepare to apply. Once we attain the designation, DePaul becomes eligible to apply for federal funding, which can help us expand academic offerings, enhance program quality and increase institutional stability.
Over the next four months, the Task Force will formalize a strategy, and publish and implement its plan in February 2024. As we move this initiative forward, we will share progress and updates via the Designing DePaul website.
In addition to kicking off the HSI Task Force, I’ll share additional accomplishments in the coming weeks. Setting all students up for success is our top priority, and achieving HSI status will strengthen our university community and have a positive effect on higher education throughout the country.