Hispanic Serving Institution

As an institution, Springfield Technical Community College is proud to be designated as a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). We strive to create a campus culture where all faculty, administration, staff, and students are aware of and dedicated to embracing and fostering our HSI designation and identity. In 2015, STCC became one of only three colleges in the state to achieve this prestigious recognition. An HSI designation is given to colleges with a student population that is at least 25% of students identifying as Latina/Latino/Latinx. Being an HSI means we are committed to addressing the unique needs and challenges faced by our Hispanic student population. We continuously adapt our efforts to support Hispanic students, including offering culturally responsive programming, adapting hiring practices, providing holistic student support services, and more.

Springfield Technical Community College will formally launch our next strategic plan, and Momentum: 2023-2028 continues our mission of access, affordability, and equity. We are proud of our student diversity, and with the largest undergraduate enrollment in Springfield, combined with our status as the most affordable higher education option in the city, STCC is deeply embedded in the fabric of our community. We invite our students and stakeholders to read more about the lens of racial/equity we utilize with our work, and how we constructed our strategic goals and measurable objectives. President John B. Cook

At STCC, our HSI initiatives and activities are integrated into our strategic plan Momentum: 2023-2028 and other strategic organizational structures. We believe in providing comprehensive support to our students to ensure their success both inside and outside the classroom. Through targeted initiatives, we aim to increase student participation in signature programs, strengthen holistic student services, and prioritize student well-being in all its forms. Our commitment to HSI principles drives our efforts to create an environment that fosters academic and personal growth for all our students.

Community-Building and Culturally-Relevant Activities

We value community-building and celebrate the diversity of our student body through culturally-relevant activities. Past and future events funded or driven by our HSI designation include heritage events like the Western Mass Puerto Rican Day Parade and Celebration, the Puerto Rican Studies Association Conference, Hispanic Heritage Month Celebrations, Inclusivity Speaker & Performance Series events, and events hosted by our Employee Resource Group the Hispanic Association in Higher Education (HAHE). These events provide opportunities for our students and the wider community to come together, celebrate their heritage, and foster a sense of belonging.

• Western Mass Puerto Rican Day Parade and Celebration
• Hispanic Heritage Month
• Puerto Rican Studies Association Conference
• Inclusivity Speaker & Performance Series
• Hispanic Association in Higher Education (HAHE) ERG
• Latino Empowerment Advisory Council

Holistic Supports

As part of our commitment to student success, we offer a range of support resources to current and prospective students. Our strategic plan includes goals and objectives to increase student participation in signature programs and co-curricular activities, strengthen holistic student services, and enhance mental health support and access to basic needs services (objectives 3.3, 3.4, 4.4). We have dedicated programs for holistic student support to ensure students have the support they need to thrive academically and personally, such as:

STCC provides academic support in the form of centralized tutoring services which includes Success Coaches, a Supplemental Instruction (SI) program, peer and paraprofessional STEM Center tutors, and peer Writing Center tutors.

Cultivating and Supporting a Collegiate Culture

In line with our HSI identity, we strive to cultivate and support a collegiate culture that is intentional in its mission to serve Hispanic students. This includes offering a fully Spanish certificate in Early Childhood Education and providing bilingual courses to create a sense of belonging for our Spanish-speaking students. We also focus on creating programs of interest for marginalized groups, such as Applied Psychology and Human Services/Social Work.

Addressing Systemic Barriers to Student Access, Success, and Retention

Furthermore, we address systemic barriers to student access, success, and retention through various initiatives.

Reducing Financial Barriers

In line with our strategic plan objective 4.3 the following tactics are designed to increase the percentage of students applying for and receiving aid to reduce financial-related barriers for students and ensure STCC remains the most affordable option for higher education.

• Student Financial Services (SFS) and Student Affairs collaborate in making personalized calls to students, alerting them to their status in the financial aid and payment process, and encouraging the next steps.
• Student Affairs professionals are cross-trained to access and interpret financial aid information from student information systems.

Increasing Persistence

In accordance with our strategic plan objective 2.4 we make intentional efforts to "increase enrollment and persistence for Students of Color" with tactics such as:

• Re-envisioned Retention Alert system
• Revamped Placement Testing
  • Directed Self-Placement
  • Math Placement Testing Redesign
• Common first semester in LAPS. If students change major during their first semester, they will not have to restart and will have a lot of credits.
• Corequisites for developmental work so students can take development courses at the same time as the college course
• More prior learning credit awarded
• Deregistration process changes based on data revealing that Black students are disproportionately affected by this practice.

Program Outcomes to Meet Community Needs

Following our Strategic Plan Objective 1.2 we "align program offerings with career professional/transfer outcomes that include business/industry/ community needs."

• Building Mass Transfer into programs
• College transfer & readiness courses

Increasing Enrollment

In accordance with strategic plan objectives 2.2 and 2.4 we aim to increase enrollment of BIPOC students in Health, STEM, and high-demand high-wage programs to support upward mobility. One tactic includes a program-by-program annual review of admission standards by department chairs and their academic deans to ensure fairness and equity.

Serving as an Anti-racist institution

Finally, our Anti-racism and Inclusion Alliance (AIA) is a broadly representative group of faculty, staff, administrators, and students who work to promote an integrated and systemic approach across the college-specific to diversity, equity, and inclusion, with the stated outcome of ensuring STCC serves as an anti-racist institution.

Celebrating and Highlighting Hispanic Stories

STCC recognizes the importance of celebrating and highlighting the stories of Hispanic students, as well as staff and faculty members who contribute to the college's Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) initiatives. These stories serve as powerful reminders of the diverse talent and resilience within the college community, contributing to the overall vision and goals of STCC as an inclusive and thriving Hispanic-Serving Institution.

• June 25, 2024 STCC to lead higher ed partnership to advance racial equity
• May 24, 2024 STCC student overcomes language barrier to earn science degree
• November 27, 2023 Lidya Rivera-Early who strengthened STCC’s ties to community takes role at UMass
• November 9, 2023 Just in time: Student seeks patent for watch to help save lives

See All Hispanic Stories

Addressing Inequities in Faculty and Staff Representation and Retention

Hiring Practices

To address inequities in faculty and staff representation and retention, STCC is implementing various strategies. The college is committed to investing in employee diversity college-wide, with a particular emphasis on increasing diversity among the faculty. This commitment is reflected in hiring practices such as placing a greater emphasis on the screening of applicant pools for qualified minority candidates. Additionally, job ads are being written more inclusively to better convey the college's values of diversity and equity. Search committees place an emphasis on representative diversity, considering factors such as experience, age, physical ability, race/ethnicity, gender, religion, color, creed, nationality or origin, and sexual orientation.

Employee Resource Groups

To support and retain professionals of color, the college currently has three Employee Resource Groups (ERGs):

• Hispanic Association in Higher Education (HAHE)
• Black Professional Working Group
• Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and/or Questioning, Intersex, and Asexual and/or Ally (LGBTQIA+) group.

These ERGs serve as forums for dialogue and provide a supportive community for employees.

Structural Investments

To further invest in and enhance diversity, equity, and inclusion, STCC established the Anti-racism and Inclusion Alliance (AIA), a key forum for employee dialogue; appointed its first Chief Equity Officer; and established an Office of Equity and Inclusion (select initiative from Strategic Plan Goal 4: Connect and Support). 

To promote increased communication, transparency, and shared governance between the administration and other institutional constituencies, the Shared Governance Council was created. This inclusive approach ensures that all stakeholders have a voice in the decision-making processes.

Faculty and Staff Training

Efforts to address inequities in faculty and staff representation and retention align with the objectives of the Momentum Strategic Plan 2023-2028. STCC is actively working to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion dialogue and fluency among its employees in line with Stratgeic Plan objectives 1.4 and 4.5. The college has implemented various initiatives to educate the community on equitable practices. These initiatives include professional development (PD) workshops and training opportunities such as Escala breakout sessions, conferences, and Communities of Practice (COPs).

In recognition of the need for ongoing faculty training in equity-minded practices, STCC has received the Massachusetts Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF) grant.

Developing Hispanic Serving Institutions Program (DHSI)/Title V 

As an HSI, STCC is a recipient of the Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions (DHSI) Program, which provides grants to assist HSIs to expand educational opportunities for and improve the attainment of Hispanic students.

In support of our financial literacy objectives, we appointed a financial literacy coordinator to facilitate financial literacy workshops in-house which are also extended to the local community, and offer group and one-on-one financial counseling.

To support incoming freshmen with testing, we introduced ALEKS, a high-touch solution to navigate testing options, and designated a faculty committee to focus on process improvement.

To foster an educational ecosystem that encourages STEM Exploration, we've aligned with local middle and high schools to share STCC resources and offer workshops and fairs as well as build upon STCC students’ common first-year experience. These initiatives include:

• STEM FYE (first-year experience course)
• STEM related workshops
• STEM week (October 16--20) TBD
• STEM Job fair

In support of persistence, associate completion, graduation rates, and Transfers to 4-year colleges and universities we have dedicated bilingual STEM academic advisors, a STEM transfer advisor, and a STEM coach providing high-touch solutions for STEM students. To further support these objectives we host the following initiatives:

• STEM New Student Orientation
• Resume Workshops
• STEM Career Exploration Workshops
• Transfer Workshops
• Title V Scholarships

Visions and Goals

STCC is committed to doing more to support our Hispanic students, faculty and staff, and community. Our Strategic Plan embraces our HSI identity and our initiatives and goals will focus on serving Hispanic students and enhancing their outcomes.

Quantitative

Below are a few of our quantitative objectives and select measures to enhance student outcomes:

• Objective 1.3: Utilize STCC as a hub: from childcare/Early Education and Care training/services through to baccalaureate and lifelong learning.
  • Measure 1.3c: % Latino/a/x students enrolled/served by program
• Objective 3.2: Ensure all programs have foundational first-year experiences to increase overall first-year retention rate by 5% and decrease equity gaps in first-year retention for Latino/a/x, African American, Pell recipient students by 5%.
  • Measure 3.2c: Fall-to-fall retention rate for Latino/a/x students, gap in retention rate
• Objective 5.5: Continue to position STCC as the most affordable higher education institution in the City of Springfield.

STCC is committed to making workforce preparation a goal across the entire campus, not solely the responsibility of the Career Services Office. Objective 4.2 of our Strategic Plan serves this goal and reads "Review, and continue to re-envision, all programs (and develop new ones) for students to transfer or secure good jobs, with delivery modes designed for flexibility."

Qualitative

Beyond quantitative goals, STCC is committed to creating a campus that is a place of liberation. Our goal is to create an inclusive and welcoming culture that embraces our student's diverse backgrounds and identities. This qualitative goal is represented in our Strategic Plan in "Goal 4 Connect and Support: Create a connected campus climate and culture that dismantles systemic barriers for students and employees in order to deliver high-quality curricular, co-curricular, and extracurricular opportunities."

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