More Than Money: Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) and the Multiple Dimensions of Social Mobility

• In Event: Latina/o Sociology Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Roundtable 5: Education, Institutions, and Social Mobility

Abstract

Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) are touted as engines of social mobility, propelling the economic advancement of low-income students (Espinosa et al., 2018). Yet, social mobility also encompasses overlooked dimensions that reflect a sense of empowerment among historically marginalized communities. While many Latine and low-income students pursue college for social mobility, their conceptions often reflect desires to “give back” to families and communities (Cuellar et al., 2022; Perez Huber et al., 2018; Reyes, 2025). We thus explore how HSI and non-HSI alumni fare on a set of social mobility measures that tap into the transformative potential of education to expand traditional, economic-centric measures.

Authors

• Marcela G. Cuellar

• Isabella D.C. Herrera, University of California-Davis