Hispanic-Servingness Complexity In The United States-Mexico Borderland: Employee Perspectives At A Hispanic-Serving Community College

Persistent challenges and low educational attainment among Hispanic college students highlight the urgency of Hispanic-Servingness. A mixed-methods design was employed through an exploratory questionnaire to examine Hispanic-Serving Institutions’ employees’ perceptions of five metrics: institutional, academic, student services, community engagement, and grant funding practices. Data were collected from 439 employees from a Hispanic-Serving Community College located in the southwest U.S.-Mexico borderland region, who anonymously completed an online survey. Quantitative results revealed employees perceived that the Hispanic-Serving Community College demonstrates strength in institutional and academic practices that support Hispanic students. Additionally, the results indicated general agreement with the effectiveness across the metrics, except for grant funding practices. Significant differences were found across employee categories: administrators reported lower agreement than faculty on the implementation of institutional and academic practices while faculty reported lower agreement than administrators on implementation of grant funding practices. No statistically significant differences were found in perceptions of effectiveness across employee categories. Key qualitative findings revealed that political polarization around diversity, equity, and inclusion legislation have created a chilling effect, leading to employee self-censorship and institutional hesitancy in explicitly naming and advancing Hispanic-Servingness. The comparative analysis revealed a complex landscape in which Hispanic-Servingness is both affirmed and contested. Academic and student services practices demonstrated strong alignment with inclusivity and belonging, while institutional, community engagement, and grant funding practices exposed tensions between a universal/race-neutral approach to serving college students and providing Hispanic-Servingness.