South Texas College named finalist for inaugural ‘Seal of Excelencia” award
Recipients to be announced in June
Recognizing South Texas College’s commitment to serving Latino students, STC has been selected as a finalist for the inaugural cohort of the “Seal of Excelencia” by Washington D.C.-based Excelencia in Education.
Excelencia, a nonprofit organization that seeks to improve education outcomes for Latino college students, announced its 20 finalists for the recognition on Thursday, May 23. The organization created the seal of approval last year to challenge colleges to increase Latino enrollment and improve student retention rates and faculty representation on their campuses.
Colleges and universities can receive the seal if they demonstrate a significant improvement in serving Latino students through data, practice and leadership, according to the organization.
Recipients of the award will be announced June 20 in Washington.
“Identifying finalists among strong applications required an even more critical review of integrated elements throughout the institution that set a strong national model for what all institutions can do to intentionally SERVE Latino students while serving all,” said Excelencia in Education CEO Deborah Santiago in a letter to the college. “We look forward to strengthening our collective commitment to better serve Latino students.”
South Texas College was previously named among the top institutions in the nation for outstanding, evidence-based results of improving Latino student success in higher education by Excelencia in 2017.
STC was recognized as the national winner in the Baccalaureate category for its Competency-Based Bachelor of Applied Science in Organizational Leadership. At that time, representatives for the college attended Excelencia’s Celabración event at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington with leaders, decision-makers, and grantmakers from across the country.