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Monthly Highlight: A Slow and Steady Growth in Hispanic College Enrollment
Education Sep 16, 2016
Adults having fun at the photo booth. – Courtesy photo / Kidspace
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By Mary McNulty
Hispanics are now enrolling in college at a higher percentage rate than Caucasians. In 2012, 49 percent of Hispanics attended a college or university, which is a 240 percent increase since 1996.
It is not surprising, with such a large Latino population – 39 percent of the state – many of the selected colleges and universities are within California.
The increase in the Hispanic college population (ages 18 to 24) has been slow and steady. The number of students, when speaking in terms of percentage, has increased from 12 percent in 2008, to 19 percent in 2015. From 2001 to 2011 the number of Hispanics with a bachelor’s degree increased from 11.1 percent, to 14.1 percent – a tremendous gain, no doubt.
In researching the colleges with the highest Hispanic population, a majority are found in California. Out of the top 10, seven were located in California in regions with high Hispanic populations.
The number one ranked college for Hispanics, which was surprising, was the University of California, Santa Cruz. Other California schools in the top 10 include:
– San Diego State University.
– University of California, Riverside.
– Whittier College.
– Cal Poly Pomona.
– University of La Verne.
– California State University, Long Beach.
Other schools on the list include: St. Edward’s, a Catholic university in Texas; University of Houston; and Florida International University.
When looking at colleges in the local area with the highest percentage of Hispanic enrollment it is no surprise that Cal State LA leads the way. Approximately 43 percent of the student population, or 8,753, identifies themselves as Hispanic.
While inroads have definitely been made, the numbers still are not high enough to truly support the California economy. With Hispanics continuing to make up a large portion the state’s population, the 11.1 percent with a college degree will be unable to sustain the California economy.
“Very soon half of the graduating class [in California] will be of Hispanic origin. If they are only getting degrees at a rate of 11 percent, we are heading in the wrong direction. It is disastrous for the community and disastrous for the state,” according to Patricia Gandara, research professor/co-director of The Civil Rights Project at UCLA and commissioner with the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics.
The most prestigious of the California educational systems, the University of California (UC), continues to increase the number of Hispanics accepted. In 2014-2015 the UC freshman Hispanic population increased from 27.6 percent to 28.8 percent, bringing total enrollees to 61,120, an increase of about 1,000 students.
The trend is definitely heading in a positive direction. The challenge faced is insuring that the freshman acceptance rate continues to increase, but the graduation rate does as well. With the Hispanic population becoming the largest ethnic group in California. The college enrollment rate in 2012 for Hispanics surpassed whites for the first time.
