UT Arlington is a Hispanic Serving Institution. But is it doing enough for its students?
A coalition of student leaders at the University of Texas at Arlington wants to increase support and resources for Hispanic students and faculty, and university leaders hope to address these concerns.
UTA has been a Hispanic Serving Institution since 2014, a recognition a university earns when more than 25% of its undergraduate population is Hispanic or Latino. By 2021, Hispanic students made up more than 30% of UTA’s undergrads.
Throughout the years, the university has been recognized as a top institution for Hispanic students, both in Texas and nationally.
But some student leaders, like political science major and junior Dylan Torres, say the university needs to improve Hispanic representation among faculty and administration, provide more academic resources aimed at Hispanic students, or find ways to better connect students with the resources available. They also would like UTA to help establish a centrally located hub where Latino students can connect and engage.
To champion these concerns, multiple Latino students who hold leadership positions in student organizations joined together to form the Hispanic Leadership Council and urge the administration to take an active approach. Members of the Hispanic Leadership Council attended an event on the State of Latino Higher Education in Texas in the fall semester and voiced their concerns.
Torres, who co-founded the council, said it is important to him that the administration meet with Hispanic students and consider their concerns to shape the university for the better.
“’Hispanic serving’ is just something that they’ve been given,” he said. “They feel like they can put it everywhere and advertise it and proclaim it. And since there’s no real standard as to what ‘Hispanic-serving’ is, the problem is that they take it for granted.”
University administration has met with the group and said the group proposed ideas that merit exploration. Representatives of UTA also highlighted resources and support systems currently provided by the university.
“This is an issue that UTA cares deeply about and has invested a great deal of resources in getting right,” spokesperson Jeff Carlton said.
Number of Hispanic faculty a concern
Torres said one of the biggest issues for Hispanic students is the discrepancy between the percentage of Hispanic students compared the percentage of Hispanic faculty and staff. Out of the 628 tenured or on-tenure track faculty at UTA in 2021, 38 were Hispanic or Latino. That means just over 6% of faculty were Hispanic while more than 30% of students were Hispanic.
Rodrigo Lizaola, a junior political science major, has noticed the lack of representation among faculty and leadership throughout his academic journey.
“Most of the people who look like me and talk like me are maintenance workers,” he said.
Torres said students he’s spoken to know they’re underrepresented but often don’t realize that there’s such a large student Hispanic population on campus.
Hispanic faculty are largely underrepresented across higher education in the U.S. and Texas. The percentage of Hispanic faculty at similar universities across the state falls under 10% of the total tenured and tenure-track faculty, even at Texas institutions that are designated Hispanic-serving.
As a response to this, in 2022, 20 of the nation’s top Hispanic-serving research universities, including UTA, announced the formation of the Alliance of Hispanic Serving Research Universities with the intention of increasing opportunity for “those historically underserved by higher education.”
One of the key goals for the universities is to increase the number of Hispanic professors by 20% in their universities by 2030.
Focus on graduation rates
Torres said the Hispanic Leadership Council is disappointed with the graduation rates of Hispanic undergrads, and wants UTA to provide more direct academic and financial assistance to Hispanic students, as well as better pathways to graduate programs.
According to the National Center of Education Statistics, the six-year graduation rate for Hispanic and Latino students at UTA was 50% in 2021, which was higher than graduation rates for Black students (41%) and white students (49%) but lower than Asian students (61%) and international students (55%), which are categorized separately. Throughout the years, the graduation rate for Hispanic students has fluctuated between 46% and 51%, placing it above or below the rate of Black and white students depending on the year.
UTA is among the largest degree-awarding institutions for Hispanic students in the nation, but it’s six-year graduation rate was the lowest in 2021 among similar Hispanic Serving Institutions in Texas such as the University of North Texas (60%), the University of Houston (58%) and Texas State University (55%).
Torres said the university has some good programs that help Latino students, such as the Men of Distinction program, but these need to be expanded. He said there’s a need for Hispanic students to be provided with scholarships, financial help and potential employment after graduation, especially for first-generation students.
Torres said they also want to see the university craft a pipeline for Hispanic students to enroll in graduate programs.
“When you’re an undergrad and you come here your freshman year and you don’t see any faculty that are Hispanic and any grad students that are Hispanic, it makes you feel like your role here is to go four years and then leave,” he said.
Torres said there are unique obstacles that UTA’s Hispanic students may be experience, and they could benefit from an active and specialized approach.
“A lot of the Hispanic student population here is working, a lot of the population here maybe didn’t learn English as a first language. A lot of the Hispanic student population here is first gen,” he said.
Existing programs help Latino students
Carlton, the UTA spokesperson, said the university does want to highlight the resources that are currently available while having open conversations.
He said that as a public state university, UTA isn’t allowed to provide race or ethnicity-based scholarships.
Jennifer Sutton, director of TRIO Student Support Services, pointed to the Blaze Forward Program as one of the most significant forms of financial help for students. The program, which was launched last year, covers 100% of tuition and fees for students whose families make $85,000 or less and meet other eligibility requirements. The program affects about 4,000 students.
Carlton also pointed to the Alliance of Hispanic Serving Research Universities and its goal to double the number of Hispanic doctoral students by 2030.
Sutton also highlighted UTA A Mi Manera, which offers information sessions and discussions with student leaders to incoming freshmen and transfer students; Latinx Welcome, an event where incoming Latino students and families participate in an extended orientation; and University Crossroads, a UTA-led partnership of universities, school districts and other organizations to improve access and success in higher education for first-and second-generation students from low- and moderate-income households.
In 2022, UTA also received a $3 million, five-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education to expand post-baccalaureate educational opportunities for Hispanic students and help more Hispanic students complete post-secondary degrees, Carlton said.
With the funds, the university is creating a new graduate student space on campus, developing in-depth career education activities for graduate students, and adding other supportive services, he said.
Central location where students can connect
Another concern that the student leaders shared is a lack of a central space for Latino student engagement.
Currently, the Center for Mexican American Studies (CMAS) has become a place for some students, like Lizaola, the political science major, to find mentorship and connect with others who share similar cultural experiences.
But Lizaola said that’s only because he has a minor in Mexican American Studies, and many other Latino students don’t have the same path.
He said when he speaks to other students outside of his area of study, he can feel their disconnect and sees the need for a Latino cultural center on campus.
After the State of Latino Higher Education in Texas event in the fall, members of the Hispanic Leadership Council met with Tamara Brown, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs.
In January, the provost’s office began the Nuestra Comunidad program, which will be aimed at advancing “UTA’s Hispanic-serving identity by addressing Latinx college student wellbeing from several different angles.”
Brown said the conversation with members of the Hispanic Leadership Council about how the university can better serve academic needs and support the success of students was productive and insightful.
“They proposed ideas that merit further exploration, and I look forward to continuing the discussion. Our role isn’t just to educate and graduate students; it’s also to support and serve them,” she said in a prepared statement.
Torres said the conversation and the recent steps that UTA has taken are positive, and he hopes for a sustained effort over time to uplift Hispanic students.
