Excelencia in Education recently published a report entitled Latinos in Higher Education: Compilation of Fast Facts, which highlighted information about Latino students in higher education across the areas of affordability, institutional capacity, retention, and transfer. The report also included data on Latino adult learners, enrollment and completion trends, and Hispanic Serving Institutions.
Among the report’s findings:
- Latinos are one of the fastest growing ethnic groups in higher education. Among the breakdown of Latino students in the 2015-2016 year:
- 50% of Latino students in higher education identified as Mexican, Mexican-American, or of Chicano descent; 26% identified as other Hispanic descent; 12% identified as Puerto Ricans; 8% identified as mixed Hispanics origin; and 4% identified as Cuban.
- 44% of Latinos identified as first-generation college students.
- In 2015-2016:
- 74% of Latino students applied for financial aid and 72% received some type of financial aid.
- The average total aid (from all sources) awarded per Latino student was $10,256.
- 47% of Latino students received a Pell grant with an average award of $3,855.
- 29% of Latino students accepted federal loans with an average federal loan of $6,570.
- 41% of Latino students enrolled in public two-year public institutions, 28% enrolled in public four-year public institutions, 11% enrolled in private for-profit institutions, 10% enrolled in private four-year non-profit institutions.
- 40% of Latino students enrolled full-time, 36% enrolled part-time, and 24% were mixed enrollment.
- 46% of Latino students completed a 2-year or 4-year degree within six years, 19% were still enrolled in an institution after six years, and 35% were no longer enrolled after six years.
- In the year 2016-2017, 24% of Latino adults (age 25 or older) earned a bachelor’s degree or higher.
- In 2017-2018 Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) represented 17% of all colleges and universities with 523 institutions earning the designation (an increase from 264 since 2007).
- 66% of all Latino undergraduate students were enrolled in HSIs.
