Latino enrollment in higher education institutions has been growing with the Hispanic population, and Latinos have made substantial strides in earning college degrees. But the ban of DEI programs is occurring as Latinos’ degree-earning is still failing to keep pace with that of white students.
The share of white Americans 25 and older with a bachelor’s degrees or more, 41.8%, was twice that of Hispanics, 20.9%, in 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
‘We have to worry about access again’
Antonio Flores, president of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, said about the DEI bans that the “elephant in the room is racism.” The elimination of programs and events such as the closing of UT Austin’s Multicultural Engagement Center or the Latinx Graduation are “politically motivated and ideologically driven,” he said.
“Demographically, the nation is going in the other direction,” Flores said, alluding to the growing diversification in the country. “Maybe what is undergirding all of this is the unfounded fear that some of the folks who have been historically monopolizing the positions of power are afraid they are going to lose that. “They need to make room for the populations that are emerging.”
Flores noted that the Department of Labor has projected that in the decade ending in 2030, three of every four workers — 78% — joining the American labor force will be Hispanic.
“The nation as a whole is increasingly dependent on populations like Latinos and Latinas, and we need to increase our educational attainment, especially in higher education, so we can be better prepared as the backbone of America’s labor force, to sustain the prosperity of the nation. That’s what they don’t get. This is not about particular communities, it’s about the well-being of the nation, the state,” Flores said.
A New York Times investigation examined thousands of emails and texts from conservative institutions spearheading the movement against DEI policies and found “unvarnished views on race, sexuality and gender roles,” including comments like “the core of what we oppose is anti-discrimination.”
In Texas, Hispanics are the largest population, and the state’s growth is attributable to increases in the numbers of Hispanic, Black, Asian American and other nonwhite people.
But UT Austin, Texas’ flagship, only enrolled enough Hispanic undergraduates to qualify as a Hispanic Serving Institution, or HSI, in 2021, 138 years after it was founded. To be an HSI, at least 25% of the full-time student population is Latino. Over 40% of Texans are Hispanic, slightly outnumbering non-Latino whites.
Other flagships have also done poorly in enrolling Latino students. In Texas, 39.4% of white people had a bachelor’s degree or higher compared to 16.1% of Hispanics, a slightly larger gap than in 2007, according to the Texas Demographic Center.
Excelencia in Education, which began tracking HSIs 20 years ago, initially focused on improving Latino enrollment. But as outreach to Latinos improved and enrollment rose, Excelencia shifted to training universities in getting more degrees in Latinos’ hands.
Deborah Santiago, co-founder and CEO of Excelencia in Education, said the organization grants its Seal of Excellence to institutions committed to serving Latino students and accelerating their degree-earning, which her group calls “intentionality.” It gave the seal in 2020 to UT Austin, where the six-year graduation rate for Hispanics earning bachelor’s degrees reached 82% in 2022.
When the seal was awarded, UT Austin’s President Jay Hartzell stated that UT Austin “is deeply committed to supporting the academic success of Latino students in higher education and making this a more welcoming and inclusive campus for all students.”
He has listed in the statement UT’s efforts to earn the seal, including developing mentorlike relationships with Latino students, gathering faculty, staff and alumni to engage Latino students in their community, and developing specific programs to attract and support students in disciplines across campus.
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