A new report by The Educational Trust shows the need to prioritize completion rates for underrepresented students
While more Latino students are enrolling in four-year colleges and universities than ever before and graduation rates are on the rise, the national graduation rate for Latino students at four-year colleges and universities is 10 percentage points behind their white counterparts (53.6 percent and 63.3 percent respectively), according to a new report from The Education Trust. Bucking this trend is Whittier College,
which tops the list of high-performing institutions that, based on three-year averages, have low completion gaps and higher graduation rates for Latino than similar institutions.
“This report confirms what we have known for many years now—Whittier College is a model for the nation of how a campus can successfully embrace diversity and achieve notable outcomes,” said President Sharon D. Herzberger. “These outcomes are a result of innovative programs, unique curricular offerings, and best practices designed by faculty and staff to address the needs of Latino, first generation, and students from other underrepresented groups on campus.”
Whittier boasts a multifaceted array of programs, including hiring and staffing practices that place a high priority on cultural awareness; a strong emphasis on providing students with academic advising, career counseling, and other support services; and the implementation of gateway courses designed to foster student success.
The report, A Look at Latino Student Success: Identifying Top- and Bottom-Performing Institutions, concludes that eliminating the national completion gap between Latino and white students requires simultaneous work from our nation’s higher education leaders on three fronts: 1) closing institutional gaps between Latino and white graduation rates; 2) improving overall graduation rates at colleges and universities that enroll significant numbers of Latino students; and 3) ensuring more Latinos attend selective institutions with high graduation rates.
“Equitable completion rates are possible. All college and university leaders must take their responsibility seriously to provide students with the support they need to earn their degrees, while leaders at selective institutions, where Latinx students are grossly underrepresented, need to put their resources to work to increase their enrollments of Latinx students,” said Andrew H. Nichols, Ph.D., The Education Trust’s director of higher education research and data analytics and author of the report.