Young Latinos in College increases
A Pew Hispanic Center study shows Latinos enrolling in higher education at a faster rate than other minorities, particularly in two-year schools like Austin Community College (pictured). Photo by KUT News.by Nadine Arroyo Rodriguez
A report from the Pew Hispanic Center show a sharp increase in Latino enrollment at colleges and universities.
From 2009 to 2010 the number of young Hispanic students attending college in the U.S. increased to 350,000, an increase of 24 percent. The Pew report shows that all minority group enrollment increased, but for the first time Hispanics outnumber blacks and Asian Americans. Pew’s Richard Fry says there are a few reasons for the spike- increase in population and young Latinos graduating from high school.
“Hispanics are concentrated in California, Arizona, Nevada, Florida. These are all the areas of the country that probably have seen the most dismal labor market and that sort of has also influences their college going,” said Richard Fry, a senior research associate at Pew Hispanic Center.
Fry says young Latinos are more likely to go to a two-year college, over a four year university.
Thank you for bringing this national issue to local attention. The Department of Research and Evaluation has just released the Austin ISD district summary for postsecondary enrollment. Our district did not see a surge in Hispanic postsecondary enrollment for the Class of 2010. Indeed, enrollment for this group decreased by 3 percentage points, as it did for African Americans and White graduates. However, Austin ISD Hispanic graduates for the Class of 2009 did experience an increase in enrollment of 6 percentage points compared to the previous graduating class.
Several factors may explain why Austin ISD did not see an uptick in college enrollment for Hispanics from the Class of 2010. The main reason is perhaps that the Pew Hispanic Center relied on a different data source than the one we use as a district. Pew reported data from the Current Population Survey, which is a nationally representative sample survey. Austin ISD reported data from the National Student Clearinghouse, which contains 93% of nationwide enrollment. Also, the Pew report considered Hispanics aged 18 to 24, as well as undergraduate and graduate enrollment. Our data were limited to the Class of 2010 and to undergraduate enrollment.
The Pew report cites three possible reasons for the increase in enrollment from 2009 to 2010 for Hispanics nationally: (1) demographic changes, (2) increased education attainment (high school graduation rates), and (3) a decrease in employment opportunities. Austin ISD has seen a steady increase in Hispanic seniors in since the 2006-2007 school year. However, the graduation rate for seniors did not really change between the Class of 2009 and the Class of 2010. Finally, another possible reasons why AISD did not follow the reported trend is that we are located in a strong economy.The Pew report suggests the spike in Hispanic enrollment for the nation was driven by low employment opportunities. Our state, county and city unemployment rate has remained below the national average several years.
Related Links:
Austin ISD Postsecondary Enrollment for 2010 Graduates: District Report: http://archive.austinisd.org/inside/docs/ope_10-74_Postsecondary_Outcomes_2010_Graduates_District_Report.pdf
Pew Hispanic Center report: http://pewhispanic.org/files/reports/146.pdf
Unemployment rates for Travis County: http://cancommunitydashboard.org/drill_downs/unemployment.php