Espinoza

Kristine Jan Cruz Espinoza

Assistant Professor of Counseling and College Student Personnel, California Lutheran University
Chapter Member: Los Angeles Unified SSN
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About Kristine Jan

Espinoza's current research interests revolve around racial and institutional classifications, currently focusing on Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs)—with particular interest in dual- and multiple-designated MSIs, Asian American and Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs) and Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs)—and race data.

Contributions | No Jargon Podcast | Member Spotlight | In the News | Publications

Contributions

In Support of AB 2374 to Establish California’s Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander-Serving Institution Designation

Basic Facts Brief,

In the News

Interviewed in "Solidarity across Multiple MSI Designations," ¿Qué pasa, HSIs?, May 4, 2025.

Publications

"Intersecting Classifications: The Landscape of Dual- and Multi-Designated Hispanic-Serving Institutions" (with Stephanie Aguilar-Smith), American Council on Education, 2025.

Details the ongoing evolution and increasing diversity of Multi-Designated Hispanic-Serving Institutions, and recommends best practices for researchers and policy actors who want to improve HSI support for the communities they serve.

"Oceania in the Desert: A QuantCrit Analysis of the (Under)Counting of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Students at an AANAPISI-HSI" (with Blanca E. Rincón, Brent M. Drake, J. Judd Harbin, and Kyle K. Ethelbah). Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness 18, no. 2 (2025): 342-365.

Demonstrates how the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) racial classification misrepresents and undercounts students.

"Overview of Minority-Serving Institutions in the United States", State Higher Education Executive Officers Association, September 2024.

Explores characteristics of MSIs at the regional and state/territory levels and analyzes their outsized roles in educating racially minoritized and other minoritized students.

"Celebrating 15 Years of Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions" (with Mike Hoa Nguyen, Demeturie Toso-Lafaele Gogue, Patricia Akemi Neilson, and Rikka J. Venturanza), APIA Scholars, January 2023.

Provides the principal findings from a research study and partnership with 25 AANAPISIs across the U.S. and U.S. Affiliated Pacific Islands and offers recommendations for federal policymakers, leaders and practitioners at AANAPISIs.

"Looking to the Next Decade: Strengthening Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions through Policy and Practice" (with Mike Hoa Nguyen, Demeturie Toso-Lafaele Gogue, and Dong Dinh), National Council of Asian Pacific Americans, September 2020.

Provides the most current data on AANAPISIs, with specific attention towards federal funding, institutional and student characteristics, and student success initiatives.