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Agricultura y Recursos Naturales

Posts Tagged: degrees

More Hispanics, blacks enrolling in college, but lag in bachelor’s degrees

The biggest story is among Hispanics, who have made big gains in college enrollment, a measure that includes both two- and four-year schools, according to a Pew Research Center analysis. From 1996 to 2012, college enrollment among Hispanics ages 18 to 24 more than tripled (240% increase), outpacing increases among blacks (72%) and whites (12%). (The Census Bureau did not publish Asian college enrollment figures before 1999.)  In fact, for the first time in 2012, Hispanics'college enrollment rate among 18- to 24 year-old high school graduates surpassed that of whites, by 49 percent to 47 percent.

College enrollment grew among all race and ethnic groups during this 16-year period. Among Hispanics, college enrollment growth exceeded the growth in public high school graduates (141%) over roughly the same time period. The number of public high school graduates increased 63 percent among blacks and 8 percent among whites.

In 2012, Hispanics made up about an equal proportion of all public high school graduates (18%) and all college students (ages 18 to 24) (19%). Whites, blacks and Asians also had about the same share of public high school graduates as college enrollees.

But when looking at data of an older age group with bachelor's degrees, a gap opens because a smaller share of Hispanics are completing a four-year degree. In 2012, Hispanics accounted for just 9 percent of young adults (ages 25 to 29) with bachelor's degrees. This gap is driven, in part, by the fact that Hispanics are less likely than whites to enroll in a four-year college, attend a selective college and enroll full-time.

While Hispanics are the most pronounced demographic story, the education data show different trends for other race and ethnic groups on college campuses. Like Hispanics, blacks are underrepresented among those with bachelor's degrees. In 2012, blacks made up 14 percent of college-aged students (ages 18 to 24), yet just 9 percent of bachelor's degrees earned by young adults.

By contrast, whites and Asians are overrepresented among young bachelor's degree holders. Whites make up a smaller proportion of students on campus today than they did 20 years ago, when three out of every four students on a college campus was white. In 2012, whites accounted for 58 percent of college-aged students, but 69 percent of young adults with bachelor's degrees. Like whites, the data show that a high percentage of Asians complete four-year degrees. In 2012, Asians accounted for 7 percent of college-aged students but 11 percent of bachelor's degrees earned.

Americans by a two-to-one margin (63% to 30%) say affirmative action programs designed to increase the number of black and minority students on college campuses are a “good thing,” according to a new Pew Research poll. Blacks and Hispanics overwhelmingly support affirmative action and a majority of whites do, too. (Sample size for Asians is too small to be statistically significant.) Overall, support is nearly unchanged from 2003.

Source: Pew Research Center, More Hispanics, blacks enrolling in college, but lag in bachelor's degrees, April 24, 2014.

Posted on Tuesday, May 20, 2014 at 9:38 AM
  • Author: Pew Research Center

Latino college completion rates low despite enrollment

Low rates of Latino college completion persist in states with high numbers of Hispanics, despite a narrowing of the gap in the graduation rates of traditional Latino and non-white Latino college students, according to a report by Excelencia in Education..

The gap dropped to 9 percent in 2014 from 14 percent in 2012 among those who entered college as first time, full-time undergraduates, according to the report.

But it's a different story when part-time students, which account for almost half of Hispanic students, are included. In California, home to the largest number of the country's Hispanics, only 15 percent of Latino students completed their undergraduate degree or certificate in the year 2010-11. In Texas, the number was 17 percent.

Low rates of college completion - especially at the community college level- do not just affect Hispanics. The difference is that in most states, there is still a very big gap between the number of Hispanic adults holding a degree compared to the rest of the population.

At East Los Angeles College in California, about 24,000 Latino students enrolled in the year 2011-12, but only about 1,000 completed their Associate Degree that year. And although California has the highest number of Latinos, not one of its colleges were in the top five institutions awarding associate or bachelor's degrees to Latinos.

Low rates of college completion - especially at the community college level- do not just affect Hispanics. In Texas, when part-time students are taken into account, only 18 percent of non-Latino whites obtained a degree in 2010-11 academic year.

The difference is that in most states, there is still a very big gap between the number of Hispanic adults holding a degree compared to the rest of the population. Nationally, only twenty percent of Latino adults have a postsecondary degree, compared to 36 percent of all U.S. adults. In California, only 16 percent of Latino adults over 25 have an associate or bachelor's degree, compared to 38 percent of all adults in that age group. In Texas, it's 16 percent of Hispanics who hold a degree, compared to 32 percent of total adults those ages.

At the same time, more and more Hispanic children are entering the nation's schools. In California, Hispanic students make up over half of the K-12 population; in Texas, it's about half. At the national level, 22 percent of children in K-12 are Hispanic.

Source: Originally published on nbcnews.com as Latino College Completion Rates Low Despite EnrollmentBy Sandra Lilley, April 15, 2014.

Posted on Monday, April 28, 2014 at 2:38 PM
  • Author: nbcnews.com

More Latinos taking AP courses, but numbers are still low

First, the good news – from 2011 to 2012, there was about a 10 percent increase in the number of Latino students taking Advanced Placement (AP) courses, according to data released in The 9th Annual AP Report to the Nation. In 2011, 153,535 Latino students took an AP exam, and the number increased to 169,521 in 2012. An AP class is a college-level course offered in high school. At the end of the course, students take an exam, and a successful score is a 3 or higher, out of 5. If a student passes, the course counts as college credit in most U.S. colleges and universities, saving the student – and the parents – money. Studies also find students who take AP classes also do better in college, since these rigorous courses expose students to college-level work.

“For Hispanic families, participating in AP expands not only academic and college opportunities, but just as importantly, it connects them to financial benefits that can come with earning AP credit,” said James Montoya, vice president of higher education at the College Board.

In California, Florida and Texas, one out of every three students successfully completing an AP course is Latino. In Arizona it is 1 in 4 and in New York, it is 1 in 10. Overall, the report found too few Latinos participate in AP classes. Only 3 in 10 Latino high school graduates with the potential to take an AP math class ended up taking an AP math exam. This is a missed opportunity; not only does it save students money and credits in college, but data shows that students who get a good score on an AP math exam are more likely to earn degrees in engineering and other sciences.

Among the class of 2012, over 300,000 high school students identified through their PSAT scores as having the potential to take AP classes did not take them, and many were minorities. One of the reasons there are fewer qualified Latino students taking AP courses is that these classes are less available in schools with high numbers of low-income or underserved minority students. While there has been some progress in the past – in 2003, 11.5 percent of AP Exam takers were low-income – the number went up to 26.6 percent in 2012.

Source: Originally published on NBC Latino as More Latinos taking AP courses, but numbers are still low by Sandra Lilley, February 20, 2013.

Posted on Thursday, April 4, 2013 at 7:28 AM
  • Author: NBC Latino

Latinos, blacks, take more time to graduate in STEM

Latinos and African Americans take more time to complete their graduate degrees in science, technology, engineering and math fields, according to a new study from the American Institutes for Research.

This trend is affected by whether they had a master’s degree, funding for their program, marital status and the educational attainment of their parents. The study looked at data from 1990 to 2009 and excluded international students, tracking data for U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents.

According to the study, when it came to doctoral students without a master’s degree, African Americans took longer to finish than Hispanics, who took longer to finish than other groups.

The study also points out that students who were funded — either with research assistantships or teaching assistantships — finished their degrees faster than those who had to pay themselves or take out loans to pay for their education. The role that funding plays is substantial to the time it takes to finish, according to the study.

Source: American Institutes for Research, How Long Does It Take? STEM Ph.D. Completion for Underrepresented Minorities, January 2, 2013.

Posted on Wednesday, January 23, 2013 at 8:29 AM
  • Author: American Institutes for Research

More Latinos obtain doctorates

Latinos are becoming better represented in every filed, from sports and entertainment to politics and the arts. Hispanics with a college degree increased to 13 percent in 2010 from 10 percent in 2000, according to Pew center.

And now a recent study by the University of California, Berkeley shows that the number of Latinos holding a doctorate degree rose 161 percent from 1990 to 2010, outpacing the non-Hispanic rate by almost double.

While white students seeking Ph.D.s at Berkeley outnumber Hispanics almost 7 to 1, their numbers are going in opposite directions. There were 385 Latino students pursuing doctoral degrees in the fall of 2011, a 46 percent increase in 20 years, according to Berkeley data. White doctoral students fell 25 percent to 2,529 in the same period.

Second-generation Hispanic-Americans are more likely than their immigrant parents to have college degrees, higher-paying jobs, and be homeowners, according to a 2010 report by the Center for American Progress.

Latino students credit teachers and counselors with steering them toward higher education by helping them find fellowships and scholarships.

Source: Fox News Latino, Latinos with Doctorates on the Rise, July 25, 2012, and Bloomberg, Hispanic Ph.D.s Jump as Fastest-Growing Minority Gains, July 23, 2012.

Posted on Monday, August 13, 2012 at 10:11 AM

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