A new report from the CollegeBoard states that only 19.2 percent of Latinos between the ages of 25 and 34 completed college in 2009, compared to the national average of 41.1 percent.
It is these types of statistics that the Imperial County P-16 Council look to combat, P-16 Council vice chairwoman Sue Hess said.
“I think (that statistic) is very true,” she said. “I call it ‘life gets in the way.’ It’s not so easy to complete college and that’s one of the reasons why I say to anyone who is in college ‘whatever it takes, get done.’”
Hess said because a large number of students from Hispanic/Latino communities are first generation college students, it makes for unknown territory since going to college is a completely new experience for lots of Latino families.
“Once you’ve got a family where there is a college graduate the dynamic is very, very different. (Going to college becomes) more of an expectation than it is for that first kid,” Hess said.
“I think the important piece to look at is for us to say is that if this is a national average what is happening in Imperial County,” she said.
According to the Imperial County Office of Education, 89 percent of kindergarten through twelfth-grade students are Hispanic students (2010-2011 numbers).
From there, ICOE did not have data that break county averages into ethnic subgroups, but according to their numbers from fall 2004 to fall 2008, an average of 73.3 percent of Imperial County graduates have attended a 2- or 4-year college or university.
In addition, about 13 percent of the students attended a four-year school, according to data from Jose Carrillo, data coordinator for the ICOE.
“About 70 percent of our kids go to college. That’s really high for any kind of Latino population,” he said. “Unfortunately completing college and graduating from college is another story. We get them in there but they’re not graduating as they should.”
In local higher education, Imperial Valley College has a 66.78 success rate listed through the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office in the spring of 2011. The summary shows 18,829 students as “succeeded” out of 28,195 enrollments. The vast majority (27,014 students) enrolled at IVC in spring 2011 were Hispanic and of them, 66.61 percent (or 17.994 students) succeeded, according to the summary.
The success rate is the rate in which IVC students completed their educational goals as stated when they enrolled at the school, whether they be transfer students, going for certificates or looking to graduate from IVC, IVC spokesman Bill Gay said.
Staff Writer Roman Flores can be reached at 760-337-3439 or rflores@ivpressonline.com
By the numbers
College graduates:
41.1 percent, national average
19.2 percent, Latino national average who complete two- or four-year college/university
73.2 percent, local students who’ve attended a two- or four-year college/university
66.78 percent, Imperial Valley College success rate, spring 2011
67.32 percent, IVC success rate, fall 2010
Sources: California Community College Chancelor’s Office, CollegeBoard report, Imperial County Office of Education
It is these types of statistics that the Imperial County P-16 Council look to combat, P-16 Council vice chairwoman Sue Hess said.
“I think (that statistic) is very true,” she said. “I call it ‘life gets in the way.’ It’s not so easy to complete college and that’s one of the reasons why I say to anyone who is in college ‘whatever it takes, get done.’”
Hess said because a large number of students from Hispanic/Latino communities are first generation college students, it makes for unknown territory since going to college is a completely new experience for lots of Latino families.
“Once you’ve got a family where there is a college graduate the dynamic is very, very different. (Going to college becomes) more of an expectation than it is for that first kid,” Hess said.
“I think the important piece to look at is for us to say is that if this is a national average what is happening in Imperial County,” she said.
According to the Imperial County Office of Education, 89 percent of kindergarten through twelfth-grade students are Hispanic students (2010-2011 numbers).
From there, ICOE did not have data that break county averages into ethnic subgroups, but according to their numbers from fall 2004 to fall 2008, an average of 73.3 percent of Imperial County graduates have attended a 2- or 4-year college or university.
In addition, about 13 percent of the students attended a four-year school, according to data from Jose Carrillo, data coordinator for the ICOE.
“About 70 percent of our kids go to college. That’s really high for any kind of Latino population,” he said. “Unfortunately completing college and graduating from college is another story. We get them in there but they’re not graduating as they should.”
In local higher education, Imperial Valley College has a 66.78 success rate listed through the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office in the spring of 2011. The summary shows 18,829 students as “succeeded” out of 28,195 enrollments. The vast majority (27,014 students) enrolled at IVC in spring 2011 were Hispanic and of them, 66.61 percent (or 17.994 students) succeeded, according to the summary.
The success rate is the rate in which IVC students completed their educational goals as stated when they enrolled at the school, whether they be transfer students, going for certificates or looking to graduate from IVC, IVC spokesman Bill Gay said.
Staff Writer Roman Flores can be reached at 760-337-3439 or rflores@ivpressonline.com
By the numbers
College graduates:
41.1 percent, national average
19.2 percent, Latino national average who complete two- or four-year college/university
73.2 percent, local students who’ve attended a two- or four-year college/university
66.78 percent, Imperial Valley College success rate, spring 2011
67.32 percent, IVC success rate, fall 2010
Sources: California Community College Chancelor’s Office, CollegeBoard report, Imperial County Office of Education
