Student engagement is a hallmark of the UCLA Hispanic-Serving Institutions. We aim to seek student direction and feedback on a proactive basis. We strive to have student hands directly molding UCLA’s HSI identity into what students dare to envision.
The student voice is powerful and keeps the institution on the pulse of where student strengths and needs lie. When the HSI Task Force: Cultivating the Seeds of Change: Becoming a Hispanic-Serving Institution report was released, we began our efforts to foster meaningful student relations. Through annual town halls, quarterly student summits, student representation on implementation committees, and our novel student collaboratives we strive to have the HSI efforts at UCLA stand out as one of the most student-led implementations of this designation.
We invite you to learn more about the ways that UCLA engages students in its various HSI efforts, including:
Alongside the HSI Director, two undergraduate students support the university’s efforts towards becoming an HSI. This position is a 1-year paid opportunity currently available to enrolled undergraduate students. These two undergraduate students, or the HSI Student Liaisons, are the linkages between the student body and the HSI Initiative, faculty, staff, and administrators in charge of implementing HSI designation.
To gauge a holistic view of student needs and opinions, the HSI Student Liaisons plan and facilitate meetings with students via collaborations with student government and student organizations. More extensive engagement opportunities are occasionally available, such as the Student Summit and the HSI Town Hall, both of which the HSI Student Liaisons support in planning.
Thus far in the previous academic year of 2022-2023, the Student Liaisons have had meetings with leaders from USAC, the Mother Organizations, hosted one Student Summit, and have chaired meetings for two inaugural student collaboratives. By merging all these engagement mechanisms, the HSI Student Liaisons can effectively report and provide feedback to HSI faculty, staff, and the HSI Director on campus-wide implementations.
Latinx Success Center Student Collaborative
Whenever we engage with students, one of their primary interests is the future of the Latinx Success Center. The HSI felt it was necessary to create a student-centric environment that centers solely on the Latinx Resource Center. This collaboration will guide the institution’s development of the center, which students have vocalized is vital to act as a hub that integrates academic and co-curricular resources. With the support of students, we will advance and enact a student vision for the accessibility of resources, services, and a sense of belonging amongst the UCLA community.
Latinx Welcome Planning Student Sub-Collaborative
During the Fall of 2022, UCLA welcomed students, faculty, staff, and administrators to campus with a celebration and festivities that showcased and shared the Latinx culture with the Bruin community. Through food, music, speakers, and a Latinx-oriented resource fair, the Latinx presence radiated for all to witness at the heart of UCLA. As we continue to grow, the HSI embarked on a student-oriented space to give feedback on the Latinx Welcome preparation. At UCLA, the student’s voice is listened to at every process step.
Through our engagement with stakeholders in the past few years, we have received helpful feedback about representation, diversity, and inclusivity. We want to ensure that the HSI Initiative is molded by the hands of students, and the HSI Initiative Undergraduate Student Advisory Board — with three components of sociocultural, political, and academic campus sections — will be one of two future boards to help us do that.
