Collegiate Leadership
Development Program

CLDP is a seven-week, interactive, bilateral, policy-oriented training program for Latino student leaders and university staff, faculty, and administrators. The program is designed to focus on how to formulate, exercise, and influence policy. Given the setting, this policy analysis program focuses on university policies pertaining to the outreach, recruitment and retention of Latino students; the recruitment and retention of Latino staff, faculty and administrators; beginning or expanding a Latino studies curriculum; financial aid; involvement in student government; support for Latino student organizations; and financial literacy. This is not a lecture series nor does it have a lecture-type format. The program has a constructive dialogue format and is intended to be highly interactive, hence the recommended number of 20-25 participating students. The six-week curriculum includes two (sessions) focusing on administrative policies, two sessions on academic policies, and two sessions on student services. A certificate of completion is presented to all students who attend all seven sessions.

Academic Benefits

The program is intended to benefit university staff,faculty and administrators just as much as it is intended to benefit students. The program offers university personnel a unique setting through which to gather feedback or ideas, suggestions, and/or recommendations directly from students on how their educational experience could be or could have been enriched. On average, an undergraduate degree is the only degree a college graduate will acquire. For upperclassmen, this program is equivalent to a debriefing for the benefit of the university. Instead of having students graduate without the benefit of their hindsight, this program offers university personnel the opportunity to hear first-hand how the educational experience of upperclassmen could have been enriched. While any ideas, suggestions or recommendations emanating from the program may be too late to benefit some students, the CLDP program may create the possibility for the implementation of positive changes that may prove beneficial to underclassmen and/or future students. The alternative, in the absence of a CLDP program, is the possibility of unnecessarily delaying making policy changes that would improve the one-time educational experience of Latino students.

Post–Graduate Benefits

The program also serves to prepare Latino students for post-graduation leadership roles in which they will have to interact with professionals having greater experience or higher status in the public or private sectors. Having had the opportunity to interact for six weeks at the policy-discussion level with university personnel will enable young Latino professionals to possess the poise and confidence necessary to more effectively articulate a view or opinion whenever the need to do so should arise. Such interaction could include something as fundamental as a job interview or as substantive as a policy discussion.

The seventh session focuses on financial literacy, which can be offered on site or students may opt to attend a financial literacy workshop conducted by Freddie Mac at the USHLI annual conference. USHLI has partnership with Freddie Mac to offer the CreditSmart Espanol curriculum which is designed to help participants develop life-long money management skills and understand the role of credit in achieving financial goals.

This program is highly recommended for students and student leaders with a demonstrated interest in pursuing post-graduation policy-making and/or advocacy positions/opportunities in the public or private sectors.