Repositioning Trends of Latino Enrollments in Community Colleges

• In Event: 26.043 - Challenging the Discourse on Latinas/os in Community Colleges

Abstract

More than half of Latinos in the US live in just three states; over 14 million reside in California alone (US Census Bureau, 2012). These concentrations in population are important to consider, particularly when seeking a national perspective of Latino trends in education. While research has long noted Latinos’ high enrollments in community colleges (Fry, 2002; Fry & Kurlaender, 2006; Rendon & Nora, 1989), this trend is greater in California—which has a tripartite, differentiated higher education system—where as many as half of Latinos enrolling in college start at community colleges (Malcom-Piqueux, 2013; Moore & Schulock, 2010). Given the concentration of Latinos geographically and enrollment across particular sectors, could California’s large numbers of Latino students and their college-going patterns potentially be distorting our understanding of Latinos in other areas of the US? Are there factors that may potentially explain these trends? This paper seeks a more balanced understanding of higher education enrollment distribution, accounting for state contexts and students within these states.

This study is concerned with the replication of inequities for Latino students. Its focus on different state contexts draws attention to how those inequities are structured, informed by the work of critical quantitative research (Baez, 2007; Kincheloe & McLaren, 1994; Stage, 2007), using large-scale databases to examine educational outcomes, focusing on systemic inequities, the processes that produce them, and challenging traditional ways of addressing these questions. Research that considers the stratification of opportunity in higher education and ways policies surrounding mission differentiation (i.e., Bastedo & Gumport, 2003) and community colleges (i.e., Brint & Karabel, 1988) divert students’ opportunities also inform this study’s framework.

The data for this study draw primarily from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) enrollment survey for all states and sectors of higher education. Descriptive analyses were employed. Preliminary findings compared enrollments across nine states: three states with the largest Latino populations and six states with great growth in the past decade. Findings indicate that Latinos were overrepresented in community colleges in just two of the states considered: California and Wisconsin (both having tripartite systems). Further, in considering proportion of higher education enrollment of Latinos as compared to non-Latinos, greater proportions of Latinos enroll in community colleges more than non-Latinos in just three states considered: California, Wisconsin, and South Carolina. The final paper incorporates US Census data and other IPEDS surveys to consider potential influence of state contexts on the enrollments of Latino students across all states.

These findings help reposition commonly reported statistics about Latino enrollments. As the Latino population continues to grow (WICHE, 2008), it will be imperative for institutions to be informed and prepared to adequately serve the Latino students within their own states (Torres & Zerquera, 2012). This study helps point to ways where trends as reported may be misleading. It is important to provide accurate base from which research, policy, and practice may build from and make informed decisions about how to best serve Latino students.

Author

• Desiree Danielle Zerquera, Indiana University - Bloomington