Making the Case: How Minority Serving Institutions Can Leverage Campus Activities & NACA

In the season of rollbacks and tightening budgets, many institutions are faced with tough decisions and difficult choices on how and where to invest limited resources. Often, trying to decide which experiences can be provided to students, amidst financial limitations. For Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs), inclusive of but not limited to Historical Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), Tribal Colleges, etc., these decisions play a critical role in creating pathways for historically marginalized populations, and campus activities are one of the most powerful tools there is to promote are student belonging, engagement, and student success.

Yet, and often when an institution must navigate budget cuts, student affairs and frequently, Campus Activities, student engagement/involvement areas are among the first to be targeted for cost saving tactics. The impact of “cutting” campus activities is not simply about saving money; it’s increasing the risk of student attrition. Student engagement requires a broader lens, aside from the “fun stuff.” Campus Activities is invaluable to students' retention, institutional success, and persistence.

Campus Activities as Essential, not “Extra”

Campus Activities are more than just concerts and bingo, or programs and events; they are necessary to the collegiate experience. Often confused with extra-curricular and not deemed as co-curricular opportunities, it is an essential part of the collegiate and higher educational landscape. The National Association for Campus Activities defines Campus activities as “beyond the classroom experiences that intentionally connect, engage, and develop the college community where everyone belongs (NACA, 2025).” Campus Activities are an extension of what one may or may not learn or experience in a classroom. It is also the first time a student may have their first encounter being exposed to an opportunity they may not have experienced before, which is very common at Minority Serving Institutions.

Research has been published and shared that:

• Students involved in Campus Activities have a higher sense of belonging, which is a key factor in persistence and retention (Strayhorn, 2012).
• Historically marginalized students, first-generation, and low-income students, campus activities provide a space or multiple spaces and environments to affirm identity, leadership development, and cross-cultural engagement.
• Student leaders involved in Campus Activities are more likely to persist and graduate. 

When the investment in Campus Activities disappears, it erodes the very structures that help students feel motivated, connected, and supported to stay at an institution.

Budget Cuts: A Call to Strategize

In times of fiscal contemplation, Minority Serving Institutions must consistently make a strong, evidence-based case for why Campus Activities matter. This means going beyond “fun and games, it means “more than just showing up and being in attendance,” but to demonstrate true impact in quantifiable and measurable ways. The takeaways and the givebacks!

Here are some key suggestions that Minority Serving Institutions can make to institutional and executive leaders and external constituents (where applicable):

1. Retention is a Financial Strategy: Just like a job, retaining a student is more cost-effective than recruiting a new one. Campus Activities directly impact retention through belonging, engagement, and leadership opportunities.
2. Campus & Institutional Climate Drives Student Success: Students are looking for “their people.” The campus environment physically and culturally affects whether students feel valued and seen. Activities create the spaces for traditions and new opportunities to be nurtured, as well as cultural expression, especially for students from historically marginalized populations.
3. Engagement Skills Build Toward Career Skills: Involvement prepares students for life after college. It provides a foundation for critical thinking, community, leadership, teamwork, communication skills, and competencies that enhance career readiness for students.
4. Minority Serving Institutions are Uniquely Positioned to Lead: Deeply rooted traditions and culture drive the missions of many MSIs. MSIs can leverage and center campus activities around identity, affirmation, serving learning, and civic engagement in ways that align with institutional values.

How NACA Can Help Justify the Investment for MSIs

Membership within the National Association for Campus Activities is more than just attending conferences. The membership is a strategic investment in research & resources, institutional advocacy, and professional development in not just staff, aspiring professional staff, but students as well.

NACA offers:

• Data & Research Tools to measure, quantify, and communicate the impact of campus activities on belonging, retention, and student success.
  • Utilize the Case for Campus Activities as a foundational framework that can be integrated into assessments, feedback, mission, etc.
• Professional Development opportunities for staff and student leaders, ensuring campus programming remains innovative and inclusive, even offering students to present on regional and national platforms. Providing opportunities to share the innovation of their unique campuses.
  • Attend an upcoming NACA Conference, NACA Live, Mid-Level Professionals Course, Facilitation School, or Institute next summer
  • Submit an Ed Session Proposal (open to students and staff to lead)
• Networking & Collaboration amongst professional staff and students at peer & different institutions facing similar challenges, allowing for shared strategies and cost-effective programming.
  • Attend a webinar or two!
• Advocacy Resources that holistically frame campus activities as critical to institutional mission, not just student entertainment.

In an ever-changing higher education landscape that is continuously shifting, Minority Serving Institutions have an opportunity to leverage NACA’s resources and community, while building evidence-based cases to administrators, internal and external funding sources, about why participation in both campus activities is not an option but a true necessity.

Turning Challenges into Opportunities

Budget cuts force institutions to consistently innovate. For MSIs, this is a chance to:

• Prioritize high-impact, inclusive events that reach a broad range of students.
• Leverage student leadership to extend programming capacity without increasing costs
• Collaborate regionally with other MSIs and NACA members to co-host events and share resources.

Making the Case for Campus Activities is beyond the sensational viral moments populated from social media, but truly about how we continue to champion the work with a foundational framework where there is a tangible return on investment, that develops our students and campus communities.