Pew: Latinos Making Dramatic Gains in College Enrollment

Posted on May 11, 2013 by Katherine Leal Unmuth

Latino high school graduates in the Class of 2012 were more likely to enroll in college than their white counterparts, a new Pew Hispanic Center study has found.

About 69% of Hispanic high school graduates enrolled in college the following fall, compared with 67% of their white peers. The data used for the study comes from the U.S. Census Bureau.

“This is the maturation of a big second generation among Latinos — native born, and educated in American schools,” Richard Fry, the report’s author, told The New York Times.

The Pew report also suggests that the struggling economy and the availability of fewer jobs could make college seem like a more appealing choice to young Latinos.

The announcement comes after the release of other reports in recent months showing that the educational outcomes for Latinos are looking brighter. More Hispanics are graduating from high school, although there is still plenty of room for growth and an achievement gap with whites persists.

In January, the National Center for Education Statistics released a report finding that the Latino high school graduation rate increased to 71.4% in 2010, up from 61.4% in 2006.

Similarly, an analysis by the Editorial Projects in Education Research Center found that the Latino graduation rate for the Class of 2009 was 63%, representing a 5.5% increase from the previous year.

We should not minimize the fact that too many Latinos are still not making it to the high school graduation finish line, and they are not being factored into the Pew Hispanic Center’s percentages. Pew measured the college-going rates of the actual graduates, and does not include the students who started high school the same year but dropped out.

According to the Pew Hispanic Center, in 2011 about 14% of Latino 16- to 24-year-olds were high school dropouts, down from 28% in 2000. The white high school dropout rate in 2011 was 5%, in comparison.

Pew has a few other caveats, as well. Just 56% of Hispanic college students are enrolled in four-year colleges and universities, compared with 72% of white students. Hispanic students are therefore more likely to attend community college, less selective schools, and are more likely to be part-time students — all factors that contribute to the fact that they are less likely to complete a bachelor’s degree.

But certainly, strides are being made and justifiably, celebrated.

- “Record rate of Hispanic students heading to college,” USA Today.

- “As Latinos Make Gains in Education, Gaps Remain,” The New York Times.

- “Latino High School Graduation Rate Sees Large Increase,” Latino Ed Beat.

- Diplomas Count, Editorial Projects in Education Research Center.

Arizona State University Outreach Program Targets Latino Parents

Posted on May 1, 2013 by Katherine Leal Unmuth

Arizona State University administrators are working on recruiting more first-generation Latino college students — by including parents in their outreach efforts.

The Future Sun Devil Families program offers workshops to families, with students grades 9-12 and their parents learning side-by-side.

The Arizona Republic recently profiled one Hispanic family participating in the program: high school junior Breanna Angulo, the daughter of Mexican immigrants. Neither of her parents went to college: her father is a construction worker, and her mother works the night shift as a hospital clerk.

Breanna took notes on the grades and classes required to be admitted to the university during a recent session.

“It’s about closing the achievement gap, so we’re doing our part to fulfill that,” said Beatriz Rendon, associate vice president of education outreach and students services at ASU, in the article.

According to the article, the ASU freshman class is about 23 percent Hispanic.

The program includes seven two-hour workshops during the school year at local high schools. Teens and parents learn together about topics such as how to apply to college and for financial aid. Sessions are led in Spanish and English. About 700 parents and students are now participating in the program.

Workshop topics differ depending on a student’s grade level. For example, 12th graders learn about committing to an academic major, while 11th graders learn about leadership skills.

Students with a GPA or 2.5 or higher can apply to participate, and must be enrolled in certain districts, including the Phoenix Union High School District, Tempe Union High School District and Mesa Public Schools.

According to the university, program benefits include making direct connections with ASU representatives, interacting with peer mentors, and more opportunities to receive competitive need-based scholarships.

Despite participating in the program, Breanna believes she will need to attend community college first because of tight finances.

“I’m scared,” she told the Republic. “I don’t think I’m going to be able to [go to a four-year university out of high school]. Because I know the money issue is is going to be really big.”

Still, her longterm goal is to transfer to and graduate from a university, and such programs are trying to ensure than happens.

- Future Sun Devil Families

- Access ASU

Most Colorado Latino College Students Need Remediation

Posted on April 17, 2013 by Katherine Leal Unmuth

A new report by Colorado higher education officials finds that in 2012, almost 78% of Latino students enrolled in the state’s two-year colleges need remedial education. Latino students fared better at four-year colleges, where 40% need remedial courses.

By comparison, 57% of white students needed remediation at two-year colleges and 19% at four-year colleges. African-American students fared the worst, with 90% needing remedial coursework at two-year schools and 56% at four-year schools.

The report by the Colorado Department of Higher Education breaks out the rates and numbers of students by college and university. The state also tracks the figures by school district and high school. THe highest rate was found to be 95% at Emily Griffith Opportunity School in Denver Public Schools, and the lowest at just 2% at D’Evelyn Senior High School in the Jefferson County School District.

About 51% of all students needed remediation in math, 31% in writing and 18% in reading.

Even if you’re not a reporter in Colorado, find out how your state tracks remediation rates. Examining which high schools graduate the most students requiring remedial courses can often be just as illuminating as looking at the graduation rates.

- “40% of Colorado high school grads need remediation before college,” The Denver Post.

Florida Scholarship Changes Could Hurt Latino Students

Posted on April 12, 2013 by Katherine Leal Unmuth

A Florida scholarship program known as Bright Futures may soon no longer have such a sunny reputation.

Recently announced eligibility requirement changes mean that significantly fewer Latino and black students will qualify for assistance. The required minimum GPA of 3.0 will remain the same.

State Impact reports that students graduating in the spring of 2014 would have to score at least a 1170 on the SAT or 26 on the ACT. Students now must score 1020 on the SAT or 22 on the ACT.

The Florida College Access Network is pushing for scholarship eligibility requirements that don’t rely so heavily on standardized test scores, but instead will forgive lower scores if a student’s grade point average is high–and vice versa. The group also wants income to be a factor.

An analysis by the University of South Florida obtained by the access network found that 87% of Latino freshmen at state universities entering between summer/fall 2010 and summer/fall 2011 met the standards, but just 35%would qualify under the new requirements.

Additionally, between 7,000 -7,500 Hispanic freshmen met criteria for Bright Futures for Fall 2012, only between 2,700- 3,000 students would meet the new criteria set for Fall 2014, a drop of more than 60%.

Meanwhile University of Florida President Bernie Machen wrote an op-ed in the Tampa Bay Times supporting the changes, saying that they would help keep the program solid financial and able to continue.

“When the Florida Legislature created the Bright Futures scholarship in 1997, lawmakers never intended the program to help students based on their racial status or family income,” Machen wrote. “Rather, the scholarship had only one purpose: to provide a financial incentive for Florida’s most academically talented students to attend the state’s public universities, raising the quality of their experience in college and improving our universities as a whole.”

He argues that minority and low-income students can be assisted through other programs. He cited the Florida Opportunity Scholars, which covers tuition and board for students first in their family to attend college and coming from homes earning less than $40,000 a year.

Meanwhile Florida College Access Network executive director Braulio Colon expressed that Bright Futures should offer access to more students.

“We believe all students can rise and meet high academic standards,” Colon said, and State Impact reported. “But the current scheduled increase in eligibility requirements for this important scholarship program is a dramatic jump that jeopardizes access for thousands of college-going students and relies too heavily on standardized test scores for measuring academic merit.”

State Rep. Ricardo Rangel, a Democrat, has filed a bill that would keep the standards the same, but The Miami Herald reports that it seems unlikely to pass. He relates because he learned English as a second language (his parents were immigrants from Ecuador) and struggled with the SAT–but went on to earn a master’s degree.

But Rep. Jeanette Nuñez, a Republican who is chair of the higher education panel, agreed with the changes.

“Are we going to say that Hispanic students can’t measure up?” the Miami Herald reported.

- “More than Half of Black and Hispanic Students Will No Longer Qualify for Bright Futures Scholarships,” State Impact/NPR.

- “Column: Making futures

- “Number of Bright Futures scholarships awarded to Hispanic university students expected to drop by over 60%,” Florida College Access Network.

- Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program

Stanford Administrator Advocated for Latino Students

Posted on April 4, 2013 by Katherine Leal Unmuth

Former Stanford University administrator Cecilia Preciado Burciaga worked to support many first-generation Latino college students transition into the university.

Now that she has passed away at age 67, many of those former students are stepping forward to share the impact she made on their lives. They include successful professors and attorneys.

“She taught hesitant young women and men, many the first in their families to attend college, that they belonged and could thrive at the elite private school, and later kept more than a few from dropping out,” according to a Los Angeles Times article.

“She soothed nervous parents, persuading them, in Spanish and English, that the university was a safe place for their children and that it would open their eyes to new worlds. At Stanford, she also successfully pushed university leaders to hire additional Latinos, African Americans, Native Americans and women for faculty positions, and admit more to graduate programs.”

Despite her achievements, she also endured some tumultuous periods. After 20 years at Stanford, she was laid off by the university in 1994. She then became a founding dean at California State University-Monterey Bay. But that relationship concluded when in 2002, she was one of three Latino plaintiffs who came to a $1 million settlement with the university in a racial discrimination case.

Through those difficult times, she continued to be admired by her former students. Stanford posted its own tribute to her on its web site. She and her husband Tony were resident advisors at the Chicano dorm, Casa Zapata.

R. Vanessa Alvarado, ’97, a deputy city attorney in Los Angeles, said the two were role models for her.

“What is most meaningful about Cecilia and Tony’s presence in my family life’s is that they gave our mother, a woman with a third-grade education who grew up on a small farm on the outskirts of a small town in Jalisco, Mexico, and my father, who graduated from high school past the age of 60, the reassurance that their two daughters would not be lost amid the seemingly inaccessible walls of a university,” she told Stanford News.

“I remember when my mother came back to campus for Admit Weekend and talked on a panel for prospective students how amazed I was as she advocated to Latino parents to let their children go away for school. I mentored students as an undergraduate, as a law student and continue doing that today. That is how I will continue to honor their memory.”

This makes me wonder–who are the Latino administrators of this era who are supporting such students? What lessons can we learn from them?

- “Chon A. Noriega: Cecilia Preciado Burciaga, Presente,” Huffington Post Latino Voices.

- “Cecilia Preciado Burciaga dies at 67; longtime Stanford administrator,” Los Angeles Times.

Initiatives Target Improving Education in South Texas

Posted on March 13, 2013 by Katherine Leal Unmuth

The predominantly Latino communities along the border between Texas and Mexico in the Rio Grande Valley are some of the most impoverished in the nation. The Valley’s residents have long struggled with low educational attainment.

According to a fact sheet from the advocacy group Excelencia in Education, only about 16% of Latino adults ages 25 to 64 in the region hold an associate’s degree or higher–compared with 37% of white, non-Hispanic, adults. About 95% of the K-12 students in the Valley are Latino.

But the higher education institutions in the region are working on major reform initiatives that aim to reverse the trend.

At the University of Texas-Pan American, freshmen with ACT scores of 18 or less or who are not in the top 25% of their graduating class must enroll in course that helps them focus on learning and transitioning into college. About 77% of freshman take the course, which was first created in 2008.

At the University of Texas at Brownsville, high school students can enroll in dual-enrollment courses. The program has grown so popular that about one-third of the university’s students are participants in the dual enrollment program. According to the university, retention rates are higher for college students who were once in the program than for those who did not participate in the program.

State education officials and legislators also are paying attention to the region. Plans are also underfoot to merge the two universities, and to create a medical school in the region at the resulting larger university. Recently, the merger legislation passed the Texas House and Senate higher education committees. The presidents of both universities also support the proposal.

In January, Texas Gov. Rick Perry called on lawmakers lawmakers to approve the merger, therefore allowing the two South Texas universities to be able to access more funds known as the Permanent University Fund. The huge pot of money currently is available to the University of Texas and Texas A&M University systems, but not UTPA and UTB.

“I can’t speak for the legislature, but this vision is so compelling, the need is so great, that it can’t help but make sense,” said Francisco Cigarroa, chancellor of the University of Texas System, in an Inside Higher Ed article.

- “Perry: Let South Texas access permanent university fund,” The Texas Tribune.

- “UT System Planning New Rio Grande University,” The Texas Tribune.

- “Everything’s Getting Bigger in Texas,” Inside Higher Ed.

Report: Consider Latinos When Redesigning Federal Financial Aid

Posted on February 15, 2013 by Katherine Leal Unmuth

The advocacy group Excelencia in Education has released a new report focused on the importance of taking the Latino college student experience into consideration if and when the federal financial aid system in the United States is redesigned.

“Using a Latino Lens to Reimagine Aid Design and Delivery” was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. While Latinos certainly should not be viewed as a monolithic group, Excelencia finds that certain scenarios are more common among Hispanic students.

For example, they are more likely to attend community colleges, take courses part-time while working, study online and at multiple colleges, live off campus with family and take more than four years to complete their degree.

“Using the profile of America’s young and growing Latino population as the baseline, rather than the footnote, to define the post-traditional student, we are providing a fresh perspective on financial aid policy for all students,” said Deborah Santiago, Excelencia’s vice president for policy and research, in a news release.

The Chronicle of Higher Education reported on some of the more significant recommendations in the paper. One controversial example is recommending that students be required to complete a Free Application for Federal Student AID (FAFSA) form when they apply to college. The publication said Santiago argued in favor of such a stance because too many Latino students are not receiving grants or loans because they don’t complete their forms.

In addition, the white paper pushes for increased investment in college preparation and work study programs, making Pell grants an entitlement that guarantees support to low-income students, and revising the expected family contribution formula and what “sufficient” funds are.

The Chronicle also points out that the government programs giving out aid (Perkins loans, supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, and Federal Work Study) benefit colleges that joined back in the 1970s when the programs were launched–large public universities and private colleges in the North.

But Santiago points out that Latinos are flooding colleges in the Southwest United States, which need more aid.

The organization also shared four student profiles in their report, to humanize the issue. As reporters, profiling students in similar situations would be a way to make this story resonate more with readers.

For example, Excelencia cites one example of a 24-year-old Mexican-American woman named Yuridia. She works full-time, holds a GED and has children. She applied to only one college, because it was close to her home. She was not well-informed about financial aid, so she did not apply during her first year.

Clearly, many students face more than one challenge to completing their degrees.

Looking for these stories of such students can be illuminating.

- “Aid System Could Better Serve Latino Students, Says Report Calling for Reforms,” The Chronicle of Higher Education.

- “At Capitol Hill briefing, Excelencia in Education urges policy makers to apply Latino student experience to revamp of federal financial aid.”

Colorado Considers In-State Tuition For Undocumented College Students

Posted on January 16, 2013 by Katherine Leal Unmuth

For the seventh consecutive year, activists are fighting for passage of legislation that would provide in-state tuition to undocumented immigrant students attending Colorado’s public colleges and universities.

Much like the long-debated federal Dream Act, the measure has repeatedly failed. But this year, Democrats are hopeful that the legislation, dubbed ASSET (Advancing Students for a Stronger Economy Tomorrow) will finally pass, since the party now controls both the House and Senate. Supporters of the bill held a press conference Tuesday, announcing its introduction in the state Senate. Students, educators and elected officials attended the event. Supporters include Denver Mayor Michael Hancock.

If ASSET passed, Colorado would join other states providing in-state rates to immigrants, including Texas and California. In November, voters approved a Maryland ‘Dream Act’ law. The bill would provide in-state tuition to students who attended high school in the state for at least three years before graduating or earning a GED. The proposal does not include providing state financial aid.

Last June, the board of trustees of the Metropolitan State University of Denver, a public institution, decided to establish a non-resident, Colorado graduate tuition rate last year benefiting undocumented immigrants. The university’s decision was controversial, and even spurred critics to accuse leaders of defying state law. The Denver Post reported that 237 students enrolled under the new rate last fall.

- “ASSET Bill is Reintroduced in Colorado Senate to Give In-State Tuition for Undocumented Students.” The Huffington Post.

- “Supporters of in-state tuition for illegal immigrants hope 7th time is the charm.” The Denver Post.

- “A College Lifts a Hurdle for Illegal Immigrants.” The New York Times.

Report Projects Rapid Diversification of College Campuses

Posted on January 11, 2013 by Katherine Leal Unmuth

A new report takes a sweeping look at the “new normal” coming soon to college campuses across America.

The Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education’s study, Knocking at the College Door, predicts that while the number of high school graduates in the United States is expected to decline in the coming years after peaking in 2010-11 at 3.4 million, the diversity of graduates will rapidly increase.

The study urges policymakers to address the change by better serving students who have not been served well in the past.

The report also breaks down its predictions on a state-by-state basis. Just three states are expected to see swift expansion in high school graduates–Colorado, Texas and Utah.

The study predicts that by 2019-20, about 45 percent of public high school graduates will not be white, driven in large part by growth in the Latino population. Between 2008-09 and 2019-20, the report projects that white high school graduates will drop by 228,000 as Hispanic graduates increase by 197,000. Asian graduates are expected to increase, and black graduates are projected to decrease.

The report also predicts that by that year graduating high school classes will become majority-minority in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Maryland and Nevada. Currently, California, Hawaii, Mississippi, New Mexico and Texas are majority-minority.

Detailed data on a state-by-state basis can be found here.

WICHE has 15 states that are members and works on public policy research and expanding educational access. The report was also backed by the ACT and College Board.

- “College admission may get easier as ranks of high school graduates drop.” The Los Angeles Times.

- “Wave of Diverse College Applicants Will Rise Rapidly.” The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Latinos Take Longer to Attain STEM Doctoral Degrees

Posted on January 3, 2013 by Katherine Leal Unmuth

The years of study required and the steep tuition costs for students pursuing doctoral degrees can be daunting.

Some new research by the Center for STEM Education and Innovation at the American Institutes for Research concludes that Latino and black students tend to take longer to complete their doctoral degrees in science, technology, engineering and math fields than white and Asian students.

“These findings are troublesome because they result in minority students in graduate STEM programs experiencing more of the financial and personal burdens of a graduate education relative to non-minority students,” the study says.

The researchers used the National Science Foundation’s Survey of Earned Doctorates from 1989-90 to the 2008-09 school years. They looked at degree earners in engineering, mathematics, computer and information sciences, biological/biomedical sciences, physical sciences and agricultural sciences. They also only considered U.S. citizens and permanent residents.

The median time to completion in STEM fields in 2009 was 6.7 years for Latinos, 6.8 years for black students and 6.3 years for non underrepresented minorities such as white and Asian students. The median time to completion has been decreasing across all groups since 1990, although Hispanics have changed less than other groups.

The study also examined how other factors impacted the time to completion for different demographic groups, including the field of study, whether students first completed a master’s degree, student debt levels, how their education was funded and whether they had dependents.

Some other interesting data from the study:

- Latino male students took longer to complete their degrees. The median time for Latino male students was 6.7 years, and for females it was 6.5 years.

- The time to completion varied depending on the study area. In computer and information sciences, the median time for Hispanics was 8.4 years. In engineering, it was 6.7 years.

- For Latino students who completed a master’s degree prior to their Ph.D, the median was 7.0 years, versus 5.8 years for those who did not first receive a master’s degree.

- Latino students carrying heavier graduate school debt took longer to complete. Hispanic students with more than $30,000 of debt took a median of 7.7 years to complete. Latino students with no debt took a median of 6.3 years–essentially the same as all the demographics groups carrying no debt.

- Outside family obligations also impacted the time to completion. Married Latino students with dependents took a median time of 7.5 years to complete, compared with 6.3 years for never married Latino students with no dependents.

- Whether the students’ parents had attended college did not make as much of an impact. Latino students with parents who did not attend took a median time of 6.7 years, versus 6.5 years for those whose parents did attend college.

- “How Long Does It Take? STEM PhD Completion for Underrepresented Minorities.” The Center for STEM Education and Innovation at the American Institutes for Research (AIR).

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