{"id":13850,"date":"2015-01-20T10:00:41","date_gmt":"2015-01-20T15:00:41","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2025-04-23T23:58:44","modified_gmt":"2025-04-24T03:58:44","slug":"hispanics-to-benefit-from-obamas-community-college-plan","status":"publish","type":"short-read","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2015\/01\/20\/hispanics-to-benefit-from-obamas-community-college-plan\/","title":{"rendered":"Hispanics to benefit from Obama\u2019s community college plan"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/assets.pewresearch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2015\/01\/FT_15.01.14_hispanicCollegeBars.png\"><img data-dominant-color=\"e8e2d1\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #e8e2d1;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"420\" height=\"328\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2015\/01\/FT_15.01.14_hispanicCollegeBars.png?resize=420,328 420w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 480px, (max-width: 782px) 782px, 640px\" class=\"wp-image-25986 not-transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2015\/01\/FT_15.01.14_hispanicCollegeBars.png\" alt=\"Hispanics, College Enrollment\"><\/a><\/figure>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A proposal by President Obama to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.latimes.com\/local\/education\/la-me-obama-tuition-20150114-story.html\">offer free tuition<\/a> for students attending community college could have a significant impact on Hispanics. More Hispanics are already enrolled in college than ever before and, among those who are, nearly half (46%) attend a public two-year school, the highest share of any race or ethnicity, according to <a href=\"http:\/\/nces.ed.gov\/programs\/digest\/current_tables.asp\">U.S. Department of Education data<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><!--more--><\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/assets.pewresearch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2015\/01\/FT_15.01.14_hispanicCollege.png\"><img data-dominant-color=\"f0f0ef\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #f0f0ef;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"310\" height=\"440\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2015\/01\/FT_15.01.14_hispanicCollege.png?resize=310,440 310w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 480px, (max-width: 782px) 782px, 640px\" class=\"wp-image-25993 not-transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2015\/01\/FT_15.01.14_hispanicCollege.png\" alt=\"Hispanics, Community College\"><\/a><\/figure>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hispanics make up a growing share of the nation\u2019s nearly 7 million community college students. In 2013, 22% of all enrolled public two-year college students were Hispanics \u2013 a greater share than their makeup of all students \u2013 and that figure has risen from 14% in 2000. The share of black students in public community colleges increased at a much lower rate over the same time period, from 12% to 15%, while the share of white and Asian\/Pacific Islander students declined.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are several possible reasons why Hispanics who attend college are more likely than other students to pursue higher education at a public two-year school. Community colleges generally cost less to attend than four-year schools, and Hispanic college students are more likely than whites to come from a lower income family. For example, about half of dependent Hispanics enrolled in two- or four-year colleges have <a href=\"http:\/\/nces.ed.gov\/pubs2015\/2015167.pdf\">family incomes below $40,000<\/a>, compared with 23% of white students. In fact, in a 2014 National Journal poll, 66% of Hispanics who got a job or entered the military directly after high school cited the need to help support their family as a reason for not enrolling in college, while 39% of whites said the same.<!--more--><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A second reason why Hispanics may attend two-year colleges over four-year colleges is that community colleges have open enrollment, meaning that students only need to earn a high school diploma to gain admission. This can help students who are less prepared for college. Hispanics, on average, have lower levels of academic achievement than whites. The <a href=\"http:\/\/media.collegeboard.com\/digitalServices\/pdf\/research\/2013\/TotalGroup-2013.pdf\">average SAT math score<\/a> of college-bound Hispanics is 461 (out of 800), compared with 534 for whites.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Finally, geography may play a role. Large numbers of Hispanics live in California and Texas, two states with large community college systems. The two states account for nearly half (46%) of the nation\u2019s Hispanics. Among all students, regardless of race or ethnicity, the states account for one-third (32%) of those enrolled in community colleges. (By contrast, fewer Hispanics live in the Northeast, a region where community colleges <a href=\"http:\/\/nces.ed.gov\/programs\/digest\/d14\/tables\/dt14_306.60.asp?current=yes\">enroll a smaller share<\/a> of all college students than the national average.)<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hispanic high school drop-out rates have <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2013\/09\/04\/hispanic-college-enrollment-rate-surpasses-whites-for-the-first-time\/\">fallen drastically<\/a> in recent years, and college enrollment rates among 18- to 24-year-old Hispanic high school graduates have been on the rise.\u00a0Meanwhile, education continues to be <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2014\/06\/02\/top-issue-for-hispanics-hint-its-not-immigration\/\">a top issue<\/a> for Hispanics. The Pew Research Center\u2019s 2014 National Survey of Latinos found that 49% of Latino adults consider education an extremely important issue for them personally, on par with the percentage that named jobs and the economy (46%), but ahead of health care (40%) and notably, immigration (31%).<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hispanics also see education as a <a href=\"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/social-trends\/2012\/08\/31\/public-says-a-secure-job-is-the-ticket-to-the-middle-class\/\">ticket to the middle class<\/a>. While six-in-ten (61%) Hispanic adults said a college education is needed to belong to the middle class, 49% of blacks and 29% of whites shared this view, according to a 2012 Pew Research Center survey.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>More Hispanics are already enrolled in college than ever before and, among those who are, nearly half (46%) attend a public two-year school, the highest share of any race or 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