About the Examples of Excelencia Annual Cycle

Learn about the phases that occur each year to identify and promote work that is intentionally serving Latino students, while serving all students.

Call for Program Profile Submissions and Nominations

Beginning the first week of February, Excelencia in Education launches a national call for our community of common cause to nominate a program or submit a program profile for Examples of Excelencia. Programs can be entered at the associate, baccalaureate, graduate, or in community-based organization levels. Click here to see this year’s timeline. 

Individuals can nominate a program or self-nominate their own program. A nomination is not required in order to submit a profile submission, although they do help Excelencia staff stay connected to programs interested in sharing their story. All nominated programs are alerted of their nomination for Examples of Excelencia via email and are encouraged to complete a program profile submission. Only programs that provide a completed profile submission are considered for that year's cycle.

Program Profile Submission Review

Once the program profile submission period closes, Excelencia staff review all completed submissions and select a set of Finalists and Programs to Watch in each of the four levels. Selected Examples of Excelencia Finalists are then forwarded to an external committee of national leaders for final review. The external selection committee selects one program from each level as the Example of Excelencia for that year.

Examples of Excelencia Finalists Announcement

Examples of Excelencia Finalists and Programs to Watch are personally notified by our team before the national announcement of recognized programs each summer. Recognized programs are publicly announced via Excelencia in Education's national network.

Examples of Excelencia Announcement at Celebración de Excelencia

Programs selected as the Example of Excelencia for their level are personally notified by our team to coordinate their participation in Celebración de Excelencia, an annual capstone event recognizing the Examples of Excelencia for that year.

This yearly recognition of evidence-based practices serving Latino and other students in higher education is held in Washington, D.C. and organized in cooperation with members of Congress, other elected officials, and educational leaders. This event:

• Elevates the goal of accelerating Latino student success to national prominence.
• Serves as a catalyst for institutions and leaders to invest in culturally responsive and asset-based strategies to accelerate Latino student success.

Beyond the Examples of Excelencia Cycle

Promotion of Examples of Excelencia recognized programs continues beyond our national announcement of programs. Recognized programs are promoted throughout the year via Excelencia's publications, media releases, social media platforms, and may be invited to engage in Excelencia's upcoming research opportunities. The four selected Examples of Excelencia are featured in a panel discussion in the months following Celebración. In addition to Celebración, recognized programs are convened in-person to build community among program leaders that can live beyond the annual cycle. Recognized programs are invited to join Programs for Latino Student Success, a community of practice that builds common cause among program leaders from Examples of Excelencia. Practitioners engage in small, cohort-based conversations to share and learn about ways to strengthen their efforts, leverage their impact and growth, and reinforce the value of intentionally serving our students. 

Learn more about how recognized programs are promoted to our community here.

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