Scaffolding Success: Redefining HSI Servingness and Belonging for the Hispanic Graduate Student Population

While Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) are growing, research disproportionately focuses on undergraduates. This study utilizes Garcia et al.’s (2019) servingness framework and Yorke’s (2016) belonging scale to examine Hispanic-identifying graduate students’ lived experience at a large northeastern HSI. Student-led survey findings (n = 24) reveal a “service gap”: despite high academic agency, only 16.7% of student respondents knew of demographic-specific resources. For graduate commuters, belonging relies on faculty representation and professional mentorship over campus social programming. Discussing these finidings within the 2025-2026 federal political climate, we argue that graduate-level HSIs must scaffold success, and implement servingness models prioritizing structural diversity and inclusive professional pathways.