{"id":197,"date":"2026-05-22T21:41:42","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T01:41:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/openlab.macaulay.cuny.edu\/springboard-projects\/?p=197"},"modified":"2026-05-23T12:55:05","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T16:55:05","slug":"when-serving-isnt-enough-racial-capital-and-latino-outcomes-in-cunys-hispanic-serving-institutions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/openlab.macaulay.cuny.edu\/springboard-projects\/2026\/05\/22\/when-serving-isnt-enough-racial-capital-and-latino-outcomes-in-cunys-hispanic-serving-institutions\/","title":{"rendered":"When Serving Isn\u2019t Enough: Racial Capital and Latino Outcomes in CUNY\u2019s Hispanic-Serving Institutions"},"content":{"rendered":"

Author:<\/strong> Michelle Sosa
\nCampus:<\/strong> CCNY
\nMajor(s):<\/strong> Biology
\nMinor(s):<\/strong> Women’s & Gender Studies
\nProfessors: <\/strong>Lisa Brundage, Logan McBride
\nMacaulay Springboard 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

Abstract<\/strong><\/p>\n

The City University of New York (CUNY) allows the state’s 4.0 million Latinos close access to higher education. The designation of 16 CUNY\u2019s as a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) deepens the university\u2019s appeal to prospective Latino students. HSIs aim to alleviate the education disparities within the Latino students. However, HSIs in CUNY continue to show education disparities amongst its Latino undergraduates. This study assesses the role of CUNY\u2019s HSIs in mitigating Latino education disparities and examines the influence on the Latino identity. I used a mixed-methods approach that combines quantitative institutional and personal survey data with my qualitative interview data of students from CCNY. Findings reveal consistently lower graduation rates for Latino undergraduates compared to white undergraduates across six of CUNY\u2019s four-year HSIs. At the same time, the larger Latino student population at these HSIs allows for a sense of community among students as they\u2019re able to connect through similar experiences. Students create a community of students who share information about resources with one another while reinforcing boundaries of the Latino identity. These findings suggest that while HSI designations foster a community for Latino undergraduates, the designation alone does not eliminate the structural inequalities seen in their educational outcomes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read Full Paper<\/a><\/p>\n

Project Components<\/strong><\/p>\n

When Serving Isn\u2019t Enough Racial Capital and Latino Outcomes in CUNY\u2019s Hispanic-Serving Institutions Zine<\/a><\/p>\n

Reflections<\/strong><\/p>\n

As I look back on my time in Springboard, I am proud of the growth in my relationship with my research. I entered Springboard with an idea about race at CUNY after having taken a singular course on the history of racial identities in Latin America. My ambitions with this paper felt like a daunting task, to say the least. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to fulfill my expectations as I knew I never understood the relationship with my own<\/em> race. However, after completing my research, I no longer feel as though I need to ask for permission for my own identity.<\/p>\n

As a CCNY student, I am proud of lineage of outspoken students that set the standard for how we engage with our institutions. While we may be grateful for the opportunities and access to higher education that CUNY provides the working-class New Yorker, we will never be pliant in our education.<\/p>\n

Acknowledgements and Notes<\/strong><\/p>\n

I’d like to thank Lisa and Logan for the never-ending support these past two semesters. The enthusiasm they placed in my research allowed me to trust myself at every step and I am grateful for that.<\/p>\n

I’d also like to thank my fellow classmates at Springboard. From distributing my Google Form across CUNY to providing much-needed feedback, their support made the reach of this paper possible.<\/p>\n

Finally, I’d like to thank my father for the constant supply of iced coffees as I worked my way through this paper.<\/p>\n

Fields of Study
\n<\/strong>Black, Race, and Ethnic Studies, Education, Public Good<\/p>\n

Generative AI Disclosure
\n<\/strong>This project is proudly human-made
\n
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This research reveals Latinos’ educational disparities at CUNYs HSIs and assess how the categorical designation shapes the Latino identity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":198,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"portfolio_post_id":0,"portfolio_citation":"","portfolio_annotation":"","openlab_post_visibility":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7,117,75,32,31,40,39,27],"tags":[130,129,128,127],"class_list":["post-197","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-7","category-bres","category-ccny","category-education","category-history","category-lisa-brundage","category-logan-mcbride","category-public-good","tag-cuny","tag-hsis","tag-latinos","tag-race"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/openlab.macaulay.cuny.edu\/springboard-projects\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/197","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/openlab.macaulay.cuny.edu\/springboard-projects\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/openlab.macaulay.cuny.edu\/springboard-projects\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.macaulay.cuny.edu\/springboard-projects\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.macaulay.cuny.edu\/springboard-projects\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=197"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.macaulay.cuny.edu\/springboard-projects\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/197\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":254,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.macaulay.cuny.edu\/springboard-projects\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/197\/revisions\/254"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.macaulay.cuny.edu\/springboard-projects\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/198"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/openlab.macaulay.cuny.edu\/springboard-projects\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=197"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.macaulay.cuny.edu\/springboard-projects\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=197"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.macaulay.cuny.edu\/springboard-projects\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=197"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}