By Bill DeBaun, Senior Director of Data and Strategic Initiatives
Reading time: Two minutes
There’s substantial work to do to achieve the 6.6 million additional degrees necessary to accomplish the national attainment goal for Latino/as, according to a recently-released report from Excelencia in Education. The report finds uneven levels of degree attainment for Latino/a students across the United States and, unfortunately, substantial
degree attainment gaps relative to White students.
“To reach the Latino degree attainment goal by 2030, the US can close the degree completion gap by accelerating Latino completion while increasing for all students and scale up programs and initiatives that work for Latino, and all, students,” the fact
sheet advises.
More than quarter (28%) of Latino/a adults (age 25 and over) had earned an associate’s degree or higher by 2021, compared to nearly half (48%) of White adults in the same age group. Narrowing this gap will be difficult
if practitioners and policymakers do not find a way to assist Latino/a students in completing the degrees they pursue at equal, if not higher, rates. Among students who started at two-year institutions in the fall of 2018, 38% of White students graduated in 150% of time compared to 33% of Latino/a students. Among four-year enrollers in fall 2015, the six-year completion rates were 65% and 52% for White and Latino/a students, respectively.
“Alone, none of these measures capture the entire ‘story’ of degree completion,” the fact sheet concedes. “However, in combination, they provide a useful picture of the gap in degree attainment between Hispanic and White non-Hispanic cohorts in a single
year.”
To accelerate Latino/a student success in higher education, Excelencia, “provides data-driven analysis of the educational status of Latinos; promotes education policies and institutional practices that support their academic achievement; and organizes
a network of professionals with common cause for Latino student success.”
Along with highlighting best practices in student support, the organization also administers its Seal of Excelencia Certified Institutions program. 30 institutions, to-date, have earned Excelencia’s Seal, which signifies that they have, “been able to
articulate and demonstrate they are modeling the behavior we need to see to accelerate Latino student success. They are having measurable impact in changing the face of higher education,” according to CEO Deborah Santiago.
The organization’s latest research, released in July, offers state-level fact sheets on degree attainment and completion rates. They serve as a handy resource for National College Attainment Network (NCAN) member organizations and are an important call
to action to keep the focus on equitable outcomes in our work.
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