College enrollment of Hispanic students jumped nearly 70 percent between 1994-2004 while the number of Blacks earning bachelor’s degrees in computer science and other science fields increased dramatically, according to a report released today on the status of minorities in higher education.
An analysis by the American Council on Education found that minority enrollment rose by 50.7 percent between the 1993-04 and 2003-04 school years to total more than 4.7 million students. The number of White students remained relatively flat, growing by only 3.4 percent, to 10.5 million, according to “The Minorities in Higher Education Twenty-second Annual Status Report.”
American Indians achieved gains in all degree categories over the period studied, with the most significant increase occurring at the master’s degree level. Foreign students were the only group in 2003-04 to have earned more master’s degrees than bachelor’s and associate degrees combined.
While more minority students are enrolling in college, the percent staying through the completion of their degree is troubling, experts say.
“As I look at this report, I am pleased to see people of color making gains in college enrollment and degree attainment over the 10 years covered in the report, but I am more struck by the gaps that still persist and believe they only hold our nation back politically and economically,” said Dr. David Ward, president of ACE, which represents more than 1,600 college and university and 200 associations.
Hispanic student growth outpaced all racial/ethnic groups, increasing by nearly 70 percent, to 1.6 million enrolled in the fall of 2003. The largest growth took place in four-year institutions, where Hispanic enrollment rose by 75.1 percent, compared with a 64.2 percent increase at two-year institutions. Hispanics accounted for 41 percent of the new minority students over the past 10 years.
For the first time in the Status Report’s 22-year history, it includes enrollment data for Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs), whose full-time enrollment is at least 25 percent Hispanic. In 1995, when HSIs first received special federal funding, they numbered 163 two- and four-year institutions and enrolled 39 percent of all Hispanic students. By 2003, the number of HSIs rose to 316 institutions, which accounted for more than half of all Hispanic enrollment.
