Watch Live: Central Valley Latinos and higher education completion: Is there a growing gap?
Between 2009 and 2019, Latino college enrollment increased by 48%, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
Those gains are at risk.
Data shows that Latino college enrollment in the U.S. dropped approximately 7% between 2019 and 2021 – with declines double that rate at community colleges.
Nationwide, some are calling the state of higher education a “crisis” as enrollment has plunged post-pandemic.
According to a recent report from Excelencia in Education, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit dedicated to Latino student success in higher education, the college completion gap between Latino and White students has grown.
Between 2018 to 2021, the gap between Latino and White college completion rates increased from two to five percentage points at two-year institutions, and at four-year institutions, it increased from 12 to 13 percentage points, the report found.
Polling data indicates this gap in college completion could grow.
Fifty percent of Latino students are considering leaving college, according to a separate 2022 Lumina Foundation-Gallup study.
These students Latinos in a post-high school education program found it “very difficult” or “difficult” for them to remain in their program, the study found. Meanwhile, only 40% of Black students and 37% of White students reported having this much difficulty staying in their program.
How do Central Valley Latino students fare? Do they fall in line with national trends? What do California education leaders say about this growing gap? What about students? What do they say about the barriers to college?
Join La Abeja on Nov. 8 at 6 pm for a virtual, hour-long panel conversation with state and Central Valley education leaders to understand the barriers and opportunities to Latino student success.
Our panel includes a mix of California and Central Valley-based researchers, administrators, educators, education advocates and students:
Carlos Nevarez, California State University, Sacramento
Carlos Nevarez is interim Provost and vice president of academic affairs and a professor of education at Sacramento State. He has served as director of the doctoral program in educational leadership and chair of the graduate and professional studies branch in the College of Education at Sacramento State.
Olga Rodriguez, Public Policy Institute of California
Olga Rodriguez is director of the PPIC Higher Education Center and a senior fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California, where she works with a team of researchers to identify programs and policies to help make the state’s higher education system more successful, equitable, and sustainable. Olga was born and raised in the Central Valley and graduated from Porterville High School, a city she still calls home. Through her work at PPIC, she is deeply committed to producing the research and informing policies and practices to make sure we have a strong K-16 pipeline in the Central Valley that puts students and equity at the center.
Benjamín T. Durán, Central Valley Higher Education Consortium
Dr. Benjamín T. Durán is the executive director of the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium, an organization that brings together community college, independent and university CEOs to collaborate on higher education issues in the Central Valley of California. He previously served as the former president of Merced Community College in California and retired as superintendent/president of the Merced Community College District in 2012 after serving 22 years in the district.
Michele Siqueiros, The Campaign for College Opportunity
Michele Siqueiros serves as the president of The Campaign for College Opportunity, and has led higher education policy budget and legislative reforms in California. Prior to joining the Campaign, Michele worked for the City of Los Angeles Department of Neighborhood Empowerment, she helped co-found Public Allies Los Angeles in 1998 and worked for the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials.
Crystal Navarro, California State University, Fresno student
Crystal Navarro is a first-generation student with a lived experience of incarceration. She is currently a student at Fresno State’s Master’s of Social Work Program and an advocate for young people who have been impacted by the justice system and are in pursuit of higher education, and is herself a member of Fresno State’s Project Rebound cohort.
Joseph Aquino, California State University, Fresno student
Joseph Aquino is a Fresno native and political science student at Fresno State and a recent graduate of Hoover High School and a former Fresno Unified School District student board member, where he provided a student perspective on district-wide issues such as school meals. He is also partnering with the Foundation for Fresno Unified Schools to develop mental health resources for students as well as to help expand on the district’s scholarships for college-bound high school graduates.
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