ED477908 2002-09-00 Hispanic Students

and Community Colleges: A Critical

Point for Intervention. ERIC Digest.

ERIC Development Team

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Hispanic Students and Community Colleges: A Critical Point for

Intervention. ERIC Digest................................................... 1

RECENT TRENDS FOR HISPANIC COMMUNITY COLLEGE

STUDENTS................................................................ 2

FACTORS THAT AFFECT HISPANIC STUDENT ENROLLMENT AT

COMMUNITY COLLEGES.............................................. 3

AFFECTING TRANSFER RATES THROUGH PROGRAMMATIC

INTERVENTION...........................................................3

CONCLUSION.................................................................. 4

REFERENCES.................................................................. 5

ERIC Identifier: ED477908

Publication Date: 2002-09-00

Author: Saenz, Victor B.

Source: ERIC Clearinghouse for Community Colleges Los Angeles CA.

Hispanic Students and Community Colleges: A

Critical Point for Intervention. ERIC Digest.

THIS DIGEST WAS CREATED BY ERIC, THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES

ED477908 2002-09-00 Hispanic Students and Community Colleges: A Critical Point for

Intervention. ERIC Digest.

Page 1 of 7
INFORMATION CENTER. FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT ERIC, CONTACT

ACCESS ERIC 1-800-LET-ERIC

In recent years issues pertaining to Hispanics* in higher education have garnered

heightened attention from researchers and policy makers, and as part of this attention,

community colleges have begun to receive increased attention as the decisive link in

the greater overall educational attainment of this group. Hispanic college student

enrollments have increased steadily during the last two decades, driven by increases at

two-year institutions that saw the number of Hispanic students triple (NCES, 2001,

Table 207). Despite the surge in enrollment, this group remains notably

underrepresented at all levels of higher education, and has one of the lowest overall

educational attainment rates of any major ethnic or racial group (U.S. Census Bureau,

1998). Nonetheless, the community college sector has become a critical avenue

towards higher degree attainment for Hispanic students as evidenced by the increasing

number choosing this path (Wilds & Wilson, 1998; Fry, 2002).

This digest explores the status of Hispanic students at community colleges, including a

summary of recent enrollment and transfer trends, a focus on factors that shape

Hispanic student enrollment at community colleges, and an overview of an exemplary

program that facilitates the successful matriculation of Hispanic college students from

two-year institutions to baccalaureate completion.

RECENT TRENDS FOR HISPANIC COMMUNITY

COLLEGE STUDENTS

Community colleges represent the frontline in educating students from diverse

backgrounds, as America's 1,076 public community colleges educate over half of all

minority students in higher education (NCES, 2001, Table 245). While Hispanics are

underrepresented in four-year institutions, they are well represented in two-year

institutions, where more than 55 percent of all Hispanic students enroll (Wilds & Wilson,

1998). Enrollment growth for Hispanics in the community colleges may be partly due to

the fact according to the United States Census Bureau (2000) this group is the

fastest-growing, youngest, and largest racial or ethnic group in the United States

accounting for approximately 13 percent of the population. In light of this growth, the

Hispanic college-age population has increased by 14 percent since 1994, expanding the

potential college applicant pool (Harvey, 2002).

As Hispanic students become more concentrated at post-secondary institutions, their

overrepresentation at community colleges is seen by some policy makers, researchers,

and practitioners as a detriment to their educational attainment; others see it as a sign

of good things to come. In general, it is noted that more than half of all students that

begin at two-year institutions never achieve any type of post-secondary degree (Garcia,

2001; Rendon & Garza, 1996). For Hispanic community college students, this trend is

even more pronounced, as their transfer and persistence rates are among the lowest

(Harvey, 2002; Rendon & Garza, 1996). As a result, some critics view the community

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Page 2 of 7 ED477908 2002-09-00 Hispanic Students and Community Colleges: A Critical Point for

Intervention. ERIC Digest.
college as an obstacle to further educational attainment, and ultimately as way to

perpetuate social stratification (Karabel, 1972). Others argue that most Hispanic

students tend to choose community colleges out of necessity, as they are often the only

feasible affordable choice for a college education (Rendon & Garza, 1996). In general, it

can be argued that community colleges facilitate postsecondary opportunities for those

who might not otherwise attend and thereby act as a catalyst to the baccalaureate for a

host of students.

FACTORS THAT AFFECT HISPANIC STUDENT

ENROLLMENT AT COMMUNITY COLLEGES

For Hispanic students, the decision to attend a community college is often the most

sensible choice available. Students are attracted to community colleges not always as a

means of transfer to four-year institutions, but precisely because they offer vocational

preparation, adult education, remedial schooling, and career enhancement for

professionals. In addition, community colleges are more affordable, offer many night

and weekend classes, willingly accept part-time students, offer neighborhood

convenience, and have an open admissions policy. These are among the most common

and practical reasons for any student who might choose to attend a community college,

but for Hispanic students, there are some additional factors that affect this decision.

For one, young Hispanic adults have an extraordinarily high labor force participation

rate, as contributing to the household expenses is a common necessity in most

Hispanic households (Fry, 2002). Hispanic women face additional cultural stressors in

navigating the higher education pipeline, as entrenched gender roles in Hispanic

families can act as suppressors to their educational and career aspirations (Romo,

1998; Rendon, 1992). Nevertheless, Hispanic women also continue to be more likely

than their male counterparts to participate in higher education (Harvey, 2002). Further,

the longer Hispanics wait to enter higher education, the more likely they will enroll in a

community college, as a significant portion of the Hispanic community college

population is made up of students over the age of 24 (Fry, 2002). It is important to note

that a strong commitment to work and family does not prevent Hispanics from attaining

post-secondary education, although a sense of these responsibilities coupled with low

income status might be factors in explaining why so many attend affordable and

conveniently located community colleges on a part-time basis (Fry, 2002). Ultimately,

cultural validation is crucial to increasing the persistence and transfer rates among all

Hispanic students in community colleges, and any interventions targeting this population

must be sensitive to this type of cultural awareness (Laden, 1998). One exemplary

program that has done well in employing a cultural-specific strategy is the Puente

program.

AFFECTING TRANSFER RATES THROUGH

PROGRAMMATIC INTERVENTION

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ED477908 2002-09-00 Hispanic Students and Community Colleges: A Critical Point for

Intervention. ERIC Digest.

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Some states have engaged in programmatic efforts targeting Hispanic community

college students, and among the most recognizable and lauded efforts is the Puente

Project, a 20-year collaborative partnership between the California community colleges

and the University of California. Originally conceived as an institutional response to the

low transfer and associate degree completion rates of Hispanic community college

students, the Puente Project currently serves students at 45 community colleges and 31

high schools throughout California. Its goal is to increase the number of educationally

underserved students who transfer from two-year to four-year institutions and earn

degrees.

Community college educators Patricia McGrath and Felix Galaviz founded the Puente

project on the premise that greater participation by the Hispanic community would

engender more institutional accountability and responsiveness, and ultimately a more

effective and culturally sensitive educational environment (McGrath & Galaviz, 1996).

An important documented component of the Puente project is how it addresses the

unique needs of Hispanic students by affirming their ethnic identities and validating their

experiences through curricular offerings (Laden, 1998). In another recent evaluation by

Gandara & Bial (2001), Puente was one of seven programs nationwide to offer three or

more different types of counseling services, and the only one to use a comprehensive

suite of personal enrichment and social integration strategies. Specifically, the report

praised the regular interaction that students have with a Puente counselor as well as a

community mentor who serves as a positive role model. Another mark of success is that

approximately 50 percent of Puente students who complete the Puente program

transfer to a four-year institution within three years (Laden, 2000). By employing

targeted early intervention as well as ongoing exposure to culturally enriched

environments, the Puente model serves as a prime template in designing programs

geared toward increased persistence and transfer of Hispanic students.

CONCLUSION

This Digest has explored the status of Hispanic community college students and a

sampling of factors that affect their enrollment and persistence. Programs such as

Puente that target early intervention, expose students to culturally validating

environments, and help in the transfer process to four-year institutions, are playing a

more critical role for Hispanic students' movement through the education pipeline. In

light of the changing demographics of the college applicant pool, community colleges

will continue to be a critical point for Hispanic students' entry into postsecondary

education.

More specifically, in reconsidering the rising enrollments and the stagnant persistence

rates of Hispanic students, the transfer function must be the crucial point of intervention.

If real strides are to be made in increasing the overall educational achievement of this

group, researchers and policymakers must continue to study and address the needs of

this population, and any intervention should be focused on Hispanic students already in

the higher education system.

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Page 4 of 7 ED477908 2002-09-00 Hispanic Students and Community Colleges: A Critical Point for

Intervention. ERIC Digest.
REFERENCES

Census 2000: Demographic profiles [Data file]. Washington, DC: U.S. Census Bureau.

Fry, R. (2002). Latinos in higher education: Many enroll, too few graduate. Washington,

DC: Pew Hispanic Center. Retrieved September 30, 2002, from

http://www.pewhispanic.org/site/docs/pdf/latinosinhighereducation-se pt5-02.pdf

Gandara, P., & Bial, D. (2001). Paving the way to postsecondary education: K-12

intervention programs for underrepresented youth (NCES No. 2001205). Washington,

DC: National Center for Education Statistics. (ERIC Document Reproduction Number

ED 458 340)

Garcia, P. (2001). Understanding obstacles and barriers to Hispanic Baccalaureates.

Notre Dame, IN: Institute for Latino Studies, University of Notre Dame. Retrieved

September 30, 2002, from http://www.nd.edu/~iuplr/research/HSFreport.pdf

Harvey, W. (2002). Minorities in higher education: Nineteenth annual status report.

Washington, DC: American Council on Education.

Karabel, J. (1972). Community colleges and social stratification: Submerged class

conflict in American higher education. Harvard Educational Review 42, 521-562.

Laden, B. V. (1998, April). Celebratory socialization: Welcoming Hispanic students to

college. Paper presented at the American Educational Research Association annual

meeting, San Diego, CA. (ERIC Document Reproduction Number ED 429 523)

Laden, B. V. (2000). The Puente Project: Socializing and mentoring Latino community

college students. Academic Quarterly Exchange, 4(2), 90-99.

McGrath, P., & Galaviz, F. (1996, Fall). The Puente Project. On common ground:

Strengthening teaching through school university partnership.

National Center for Education Statistics. (2001). Digest of education statistics, 2001

(NCES No. 2002130). Washington, DC: Author. (ERIC Document Reproduction Number

ED 455 275)

Rendon, L. I. (1992, Winter). From the barrio to the academy: Revelations of a Mexican

American "scholarship girl." In S. L. Zwerling & H. B. London (Eds.), First-generation

students: Confronting the cultural issues. New directions for community colleges, 80

(pp. 55-64). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. (ERIC Document Reproduction Number ED

354 058)

Rendon, L. I., & Garza, H. (1996). Closing the gap between two- and four-year

institutions. In L. I. Rendon & R.O. Hope (Eds.), Educating a new majority: Transforming

ERIC Resource Center www.eric.ed.gov

ED477908 2002-09-00 Hispanic Students and Community Colleges: A Critical Point for

Intervention. ERIC Digest.

Page 5 of 7
America's educational system for diversity (pp. 289-308). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Romo, H. (1998). Latina high school leaving: Some practical solutions. ERIC digest.

Charleston, VW: ERIC Clearinghouse on Rural Education and Small Schools.(ERIC

Document Reproduction Number ED 423 096)

U.S. Census Bureau (1998, October). Current population reports. Educational

attainment in the United States, March 1998 (update) (P20-513). Washington, DC:

Author. Retrieved September 30, 2002, from

http://www.census.gov/prod/www/abs/ed-attn.html

Wilds, D. J., & Wilson, R. (1998). Minorities in higher education: Sixteenth annual status

report. Washington, DC: American Council on Education.

-----

Although there are many terms that can be used to refer to people of Latin descent, in

this Digest the term Hispanic will be used to describe students that are of Mexican,

Puerto Rican, Cuban, Dominican, or other Latin descent.

This project has been funded at least in part with Federal funds from the U.S.

Department of Education under contract number ED-99-CO-0010. The content of this

publication does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. Department of

Education nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations

imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. ERIC Digests are in the public domain and

may be freely reproduced.

University of California, Los Angeles, 3051 Moore Hall P.O. Box 951521 Los Angeles,

CA 90095

Title: Hispanic Students and Community Colleges: A Critical Point for Intervention.

ERIC Digest.

Document Type: Information Analyses---ERIC Information Analysis Products (IAPs)

(071); Information Analyses---ERIC Digests (Selected) in Full Text (073);

Available From: ERIC Clearinghouse for Community Colleges. University of California

at Los Angeles, 3051 Moore Hall, P.O. Box 951521, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1524. Tel:

310-825-3931. For full text: http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/ERIC/eric.html.

Descriptors: College Students, Community Colleges, Cultural Context, Gender Issues,

Graduation Rate, Hispanic Americans, Minority Group Influences, Social Influences,

Transfer Rates (College), Two Year College Students, Two Year Colleges

Identifiers: California, ERIC Digests

###

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