Latino students continue to enroll more and more to go to university, but not all manage to obtain a university degree due to lack of support.
“The value of a degree cannot be overstated academic. Throughout the pandemic, we saw that people with a bachelor’s degree were more likely to remain employed, work from home, and have reliable health insurance. The bachelor’s degree saved lives, ”said Michele Siquieros, president of the Campaign for College Opportunity .
“As California emerges from the covid crisis – 19, we must redouble our efforts to ensure that more Latino students graduate with college degrees and that our colleges and universities reflect the rich diversity of the state’s Latino population. ”
The report on the “State of Education of Latinos in California 2021 ”from the Campaign for College Opportunity , yielded more than 1. 39 millions of students from the Latino community are enrolled in state universities, what represents the 43% of all college students.
In California, there is a total of 1. 39 millions of Latino students enrolled in universities.
Other significant data found in the report indicate that the 87% of Latinos in 19 years in the state have a high school diploma. Does 10 years, it was the 60%.
Preliminary data on admissions at the University of California, for the fall 2021, show an increase of 8% from autumn 2020.
While at California State University (CSU), graduation rates doubled from 9 to 18% for Latinos; and from 18 to 29% for Latinas in the last 5 years.
Despite the increase in Latinos in universities , the report shows that few Latinos who graduate from high school go straight to direct to college, but at the same time public universities are not doing enough to support their graduation, wasting a huge pool of talent and economic power.
Other alarming points is that more than half of high school graduates are not eligible for admission to a university in 4 years.
The report indicates that the 78% enroll in the community colleges seeking a 2-year degree or transferring to a university than 4 years, but after 6 years, just a 32% receive support to go to a 4-year university.
At California State University (CSU), only to the 36% of Latino transfer students are supported to obtain a college degree in 2 years, compared to 41% of their Anglo-Saxon colleagues.
“As California’s largest demographic, it is imperative that California substantially increase college attendance and completion rates of the Latino community, ”said Siqueiros.
He emphasized that the future of the state is intrinsically linked to the success of the Latino community.
“ If a degree is the credential basic to today’s workforce, California is creating a permanent underclass if we do not seriously and urgently improve qualification for Latinos. ”
Among the recommendations made by the report to improve the university success of Latinos, the most important are to modernize the financial aid system based on the needs of the students; and make sure all high school graduates complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or the American Dream Act.
Another recommendation is to increase high school graduation rates for Latino students at 90%; and expand access to Pell grants for beneficiaries of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) as well as pathways to citizenship for the undocumented.
They also recommend committing to a goal state to make sure that at least 60% of Latino students in the workforce earn a diploma or a credential for the 2030.
It should be noted that most public universities and community colleges, with at least 25% of Latino students, receive federal funding to support Latino student enrollment and help them complete their studies and obtain a college degree .
Reactions
“Latinos only represent the 25% of the student body at the University of California (UC), despite the fact that 5 of the 9 UC campuses are institutions that serve Hispanics, ”said Esmeralda Quintero-Cubilla, president of the UC Student Association.
“ UC, the state and federal government must take more measures and invest in the enrollment and permanence of Latino students ”, he pointed out.
Marlene García, director of the Aid Commission California student said that low-income Latino students continue to face barriers to accessing financial aid, limiting their ability to obtain higher education.
“A big barrier is navigating the complexity of our financial system ”, he indicated.
E he Dr. Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval, president of California State University, Fresno, said that as a recently recognized institution with the seal of excellence for the exceptional support and resources provided to Latino students, they remain steadfast in their commitment to lead the way in reducing equity gaps.
“We are proud to be an institution that graduates Hispanics by taking key actions, from supporting the reform of California’s financial aid system to adopting practices that focus on supporting students in basic college-level English and math courses. ”