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SSITA
[Seal Serving Institutional Transformation Assessment]


What is the SSITA?

SSITA is a self-assessment tool that provides a starting point for colleges to assess with a Latino lens who they are serving, not serving, and want to serve with data, practice, and leadership. SSITA focuses on meeting institutions where they are in their journey to more intentionally serve Latino students and emphasizes the following key areas to inform an institutional action plan:

  • Data: sharing an institution-wide snapshot with two years of disaggregated data on Latino enrollment, faculty/staff representation, and completion;
  • Practice: describing institutional strategies and corresponding practices and/or programs in enrollment, faculty/staff representation, and completion that are aligned to the institutional data and demonstrate impact on Latino student success; and,
  • Leadership: highlighting institutional commitment and intentionality to SERVE Latino students while fulfilling the institution’s mission and strategy as well as creating an institutional culture where Latino students thrive



What is the purpose of the SSITA?

Excelencia in Education created the Seal Serving Institutional Transformation Assessment (SSITA) tool to help prepare institutions for their journey to more intentionally serve Latino students and build campus support among faculty, staff, and administrative leaders. SSITA facilitates institutional opportunities to:

  • Identify preliminary data, evidence-based practices, and leadership efforts that can inform a more student-centered approach to Latino student success;
  • Conduct a self-analysis to identify institutional successes, challenges and gaps to intentionally SERVE Latino students; and,
  • Initiate a preliminary plan of action for further development of institutional resources, commitment, and strategies as part of a community of common cause for Latino student success.
     

What is the background of the SSITA?

SSITA is a streamlined version of the Seal of Excelencia institutional assessment tool. To fulfill Excelencia’s mission of accelerating Latino student success in higher education, Excelencia established the Seal of Excelencia. The Seal is a national certification for colleges and universities that strive to go beyond enrollment, more intentionally SERVE Latino students, and become institutions where Latino students thrive.


 

What Excelencia support can an institution access beyond the SSITA?

To support and reinforce institutional capacity to intentionally serve Latino students, Excelencia has created a technical assistance strategy to meet institutions where they are in their transformation journey. Our technical assistance opportunities offer institutional teams the content, time, space and tools that further their efforts to intentionally align data, practice, and leadership as a community of learners and practice committed to intentionally serve Latino, and all students. Our TA opportunities can be accessed here.

Where can we access aditional information on the SSITA?

Institutions can find additional information on the SSITA by consulting our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and our Planning Checklist, or contacting the Institutional Capacity Team at TechAid@EdExcelencia.org.