01/30/2012 financing a college education

JANUARY 30, 2012 • $3.75 www.HispanicOutlook.com VOLUME 22 • NUMBER 08

There Are Still Bargains OutThere Risky Private Loans Financial Literacy

Also available in

Digital Format

2 H I S P A N I C O U T L O O K • 0 1 / 3 0 / 2 0 1 2

Hispanic Outlook Magazine®

The#1MAGAZINE

formulticulturalprofessionalsin highereducationPlease visit

www.HispanicOutlook.comto post your ador find a careeropportunity

For more advertisinginformation call us at(201) 587-8800ext. 102 or 106

Or send yourAdvertisements to:[email protected]

Publisher – José López-Isa

Vice President & Chief

Operating Officer – Orlando López-Isa

Editor –Adalyn Hixson

Executive & Managing Editor –

Suzanne López-Isa

News Desk & Copy Editor – Jason Paneque

Special Project Editor – MaryAnn Cooper

AdministrativeAssistant & Subscription

Coordinator – Barbara Churchill

DC Congressional Correspondent –

Peggy Sands Orchowski

Contributing Editors –

Carlos D.Conde

MichelleAdam

Online ContributingWriters –

GustavoA.Mellander

Art & Production Director –

Avedis Derbalian

Graphic Designer – JoanneAluotto

Sr.Advertising SalesAssociate –

Angel M. Rodríguez

Advertising SalesAssociate –

Cyndy Mitchell

Article ContributorsFrank DiMaria,Marilyn Gilroy,

MyrkaA.González, Paul Hoogeveen,Angela Provitera McGlynn, José Muñoz,

Miquela Rivera,Gary M. SternJeff Simmons

Editorial Office80 Route 4 East, Suite 203, Paramus,N.J. 07652

TEL (201) 587-8800 or (800) 549-8280FAX (201) 587-9105

“‘The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education’ and‘Hispanic Outlook’ are registered trademarks ofThe Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education

Publishing Company, Inc.”

Letters to the EditorThe Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education Magazine ®

80 Route 4 East, Suite 203, Paramus,N.J. 07652

email: [email protected]

®

0 1 / 3 0 / 2 0 1 2 • H I S P A N I C O U T L O O K 3

Editorial Board

Ricardo Fernández, President

Lehman College

Mildred García, President

California State University-Domínguez Hills

Juán González,VP Student Affairs

University of Texas at Austin

Carlos Hernández, President

New Jersey City University

Lydia Ledesma-Reese, Educ. Consultant

Ventura County Community College District

Gustavo A. Mellander, Dean Emeritus

George Mason University

Loui Olivas,AssistantVPAcademic Affairs

Arizona State University

Eduardo Padrón, President

Miami Dade College

Antonio Pérez, President

Borough of Manhattan Community College

MaríaVallejo, Provost

Palm Beach State College

Editorial PolicyThe Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education Magazine® is a nationalmagazine published 23 times a year. Dedicated to exploring issuesrelated to Hispanics in higher education,The Hispanic Outlook in

Higher Education Magazine® is published for the members of the highereducation community. Editorial decisions are based on the editors’ judg-ment of the quality of the writing, the timeliness of the article, and thepotential interest to the readers of The Hispanic Outlook Magazine®.

From time to time,The Hispanic Outlook in Higher EducationMagazine® will publish articles dealing with controversial issues.Theviews expressed herein are those of the authors and/or those inter-viewed and might not reflect the official policy of the magazine.TheHispanic Outlook in Higher Education Magazine® neither agrees nordisagrees with those ideas expressed, and no endorsement of those

views should be inferred unless specifically identified as officiallyendorsed by The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education Magazine®.

Advertising SalesTEL (201) 587-8800 ext. 102/106

FAX (201) 587-9105email: [email protected]

Want a Subscription?Visit: www.HispanicOutlook.com

or call toll free 1 (800) 549-8280 ext. 108

Article Reprints:Available through“The Reprint Dept.”Tel: 800-259-0470

Postmaster: Please send all changes of address to:The Hispanic Outlook,P.O.Box 68,Paramus,N.J. 07652

The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education Magazine® is a member of

and a sponsor of


elcome to our annual issue on financing a college education – a topic that’s garnering many a headlinethroughout the country.

Last month, the NPR show All Things Considered reported on a student at Western Governors University, a nonprofitonline entity launched 15 years ago by 19 governors intent on helping adults with some college get a degree. The university provides amentor who, like the student, works from home and stays in touch online or via phone. The mentor interviewed for the article had acaseload of 90 students.

Amazingly, Western Governors’ tuition of $6,000 has stayed the same for the last five years, while tuitions have skyrocketed nearlyeverywhere else. Bravo!

New Jersey’s groundbreaking Thomas Edison State College has been offering alternatives to self-directed students for nearly 40 years.Its degree programs typically cost $10,000 to $20,000 less than those of other accredited institutions. And it’s just launched a 36-creditM.S. in Management in School Business Administration. Another school of this type is State University of New York’s Empire State College.

One of the cheapest, fastest ways to earn college credits is through CLEPs, 33 exams developed by the College Board. Designed totest pre-existing knowledge of a subject, some students find that even without it they can learn enough on their own to pass, using CLEPstudy guides and public library materials.

$77 each, CLEPs can earn college credit at about 2,900 colleges and universities. You can sample test questions online, includingthe one in Spanish language, at clepcollegeboard.org.

As we face so many unknowns about public funding for education, Hispanic college hopefuls must start planning early and considerall paths.

EsquinaEditorial

¡Adelante!Suzanne López-IsaManaging Editor

W

Community Mentor/Recruiter

Dean of General Education Programs

Assistant Professor of Reading

Assistant Professor of Geology

For more information, call: 409-933-8269In League City or Friendswood, call 888-258-8859, ext. 8269

www.com.edu/human-resourcesApply online at: jobs.com.edu

EEO/AAP Institution


Herman Cain ran for presidentat the wrong time. He chosean era when it’s not about the

female gender in presidential poli-tics but about the American publicseemingly getting sanctimoniousover the macho factor in the WhiteHouse.

Macho as in skirt-chasing, so wewonder why, when history tells us it’sbeen going on since GeorgeWashington’s days. No such indiscre-tions are proved about the father ofour country, but we do know aboutanother of our nation’s heroes,Thomas Jefferson, tomcatting inParis and his intimacy with his plan-tation slave, Sally Hemmings.

And on and on it goes.Cain, the former Godfather’s

Pizza CEO, was on the high roadtoward a presidential bid when heran into a slippery slope in theform of several women whoaccused him, and exposed, (oops,sorry!) his sexual indiscretions,real, or, as Cain professed, unreal.

Nevertheless, the damage wasdone, and Cain, knowing the falloutfrom the wrath of a womanscorned and the penalty Americansnowadays inflict on such publicsins despite their appetite for suchtitillating events, called it quits, say-ing he had been done in by vindic-tive women who had misconstruedhis motives.

Cain to the bitter end claimedhe was just trying to help out thoseungrateful ladies, which is not theway the girls remembered it.

Then along comes Newt

Gingrich riding a rebuilt politicalmachine toward the Republicanpresidential nomination – until hishistory with the ladies surfaced,clouding his legitimate politicalattributes.

On this topic, Mitt Romney isthe Second Christ compared toNewt.

Newt’s latest, once his congres-sional staffer, Callista Bisek, is nowhis third wife. According toWashington folklore, Gingrich sup-posedly is an insatiable lothario, inand out of office, married orunmarried.

Some of his antagonists arecasting this as a moral weakness,with the intention supposedly beingto stick him with a negative imagewith women voters, a persuasivebloc that may not take too kindly toanother philanderer in the WhiteHouse.

As my Mexican grandmotherused to chant when affairs of theheart came up, “Y quien se hamuerto de eso.”

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis,who supposedly knew or suspectedsuch things about her husband,once said, “There are two types ofwomen; those who want power inthe world and those who wantpower in the bedroom.”

History is replete with accountsof our political forefathers, fromthe White House to the halls ofCongress, indulging in suchextracurricular activities, so who’sto argue this isn’t just one of theperks of high public office.

Historians say John Adams usedhis vice president to procure hisladies. Woodrow Wilson andWarren G. Harding also supposedlykept paramours.

Dwight Eisenhower was suppos-edly chaste as president, but asWorld War II Supreme AlliedCommander – almost like beingthe president then – he had a well-known fling with his chauffeur, KaySummersby.

Harry Truman wasn’t into those

things even when selling neckties ina haberdashery, and Jimmy Carterthought staring lustily at a womanwas a sin. I worked in RichardNixon’s White House, and he mighthave had his faults, but I’d wagerinfidelity wasn’t one of them.

No one accused the Bushes ofsuch indiscretions, but Lyndon B.Johnson is another story.

Texan Madeline Brown claimedto being his mistress and of LBJfathering her child, an allegationunsuccessfully pursued years laterin court by her adult son.

Historian Merle Miller writes ofsome of LBJ’s hilarious episodes asa wolf.

Once after a bedroom liaison atthe 1960 Democratic convention,LBJ, in leaving, held out his hand tohis partner and said, “Ah want tothank you for yore help to my cam-paign.”

Another time, at LBJ’s RanchWhite House, Johnson, in the mid-dle of the night, slipped into theroom of one of his young staffersand said, “Move over, honey, this isyore president.”

Whatever John F. Kennedy’spolitical legacy, it’s well known hewas one of the most notoriouswomanizers, who supposedly toldintimates that deprivation for morethan three nights gave him aheadache.

I was a reporter at the DallasMorning News in 1963 whenKennedy was assassinated, and Istill recall some of the travelingWhite House press corps regalingus provincials with JFK’s after-hoursexploits and the “beards” whoserved him.

President Bill Clinton gotimpeached for his distortions aboutthe “Zippergate Affair” with ayoung White House staffer, or “thatwoman,” as he referred to her.

There’s nothing yet on PresidentObama, but don’t think his detractorsaren’t looking for something naughtyto tarnish his political career.

I lived in metropolises like

Dallas and Houston and politicalcapitols like Caracas, Lima andNassau, but never have I experi-enced a city with such high testos-terone as Washington.

Remember Wilbur Mills, oncethe powerful chairman of theHouse Ways and Means Committee?His prominent political career wentkaput after his after-hours girl-friend, stripper Fanne Fox, jumpedout of his car and into Washington’sTidal Basin after a lovers spat.

Ted Kennedy’s presidentialambitions ended at Chappaquiddickwhen after an all-night bacchanalwith his “Boiler Room” girls, heplunged his car into the bay alongwith his female companion, rescu-ing himself but leaving her to drownand not reporting it until the nextmorning.

There have been other politicalluminaries who have been seducedby the physical temptations andpassions of Washington and who,like Herman Cain, opted to leavepolitics after they were outed.

How about former Sen. andonce the Democrats’ vice presidentcandidate John Edwards or GOPSen. John Ensign of Nevada and, inthe Clinton era, the promisingLatino politician, Henry Cisneros?All had troubled, career-endingaffairs.

Another Clinton Cabinet mem-ber and former New Mexico Gov.Bill Richardson is under investiga-tion for illegally using campaignfunds to buy off an unrequitedlover.

About Washington players andtheir sex appeal, Henry Kissingersaid it well, “Power is the ultimateaphrodisiac.”

Politics Is the GreatAphrodisiac

PoliticalBeat

Carlos D. Conde, award-win-ning journalist and commentator,former Washington and foreignnews correspondent, was an aide inthe Nixon White House and workedon the political campaigns ofGeorge Bush Sr. To reply to this col-umn, contact [email protected].

by Carlos D. Conde


Page 8

Page 13

MAGAZINE®

CONTENTS

JANUARY 30, 2012

ThereAre Still Bargains OutThere – Some OfferFreeTuition – and a Free Computer! by Mary Ann Cooper

8

High Cost of Low Grad Rates by Jeff Simmons

AreAmerica’s High Schools Preparing Studentsfor College? by Gary M. Stern

More HispanicsTaking Out Risky Private Loans toPay for College by Marilyn Gilroy

Closing the Education Gap:A Surge in Hispanic College Enrollment by Paul Hoogeveen

Women Fall Behind in Financial Literacyby Michelle Adam

10

13

16

19

22

Journalist ClaimsTenure/Adjuncts Lead to Poor QualityEducation by Frank DiMaria

New Report onAcademic Majors and $ Earned:How DoWomen and Minorities Fare? by Angela Provitera McGlynn

26

To view this and other select articles online,go to our website: www.HispanicOutlook.com.

Online Article

ThereAre StillBargains OutThere

ThereAre StillBargains OutThere


Page 16

Page 26

DEPARTMENTSPolitical Beat by Carlos D. Conde

Politics Is the Great Aphrodisiac5

SScchhoollaarrss’’ CCoorrnneerr by José Muñoz 18

Book Review by Myrka A. González

The Havana Habit

FYI . . .FYI . . .FYI . . . 32

25

HHiissppaanniiccss oonn tthhee MMoovvee 29

IInntteerreessttiinngg RReeaaddss 25

PPrriimmiinngg tthhee PPuummpp...... by Miquela Rivera

Extracurricular Activities Help Latino Students Prepare for Higher Ed

Back Cover

HO is also available in digital format; go to our website: www.HispanicOutlook.com.

Majors and Earnings –How Do They Fare?

Majors and Earnings –How Do They Fare?

HHiigghh SScchhooooll FFoorruummHHiigghh SScchhooooll FFoorruummHispanic High School and College Success: It’s Not aMan’s World by Mary Ann Cooper

30

Targeting Higher Education: California Dreamin’ by Gustavo A. Mellander (Online only)

There Are Still Bargains Out ThereSome Offer Free Tuition – and a Free Computer!by Mary Ann Cooper

Higher education is becoming more and more expensive, placinggreater pressure on students and their families to hold the line oncosts. Many students go out into the work force with a student loan

debt of $100,000 of more. While President Obama recently authorizedsome relief through executive order for the way these loans will be repaid,paying down this debt – even at a lower rate and over a longer period oftime – is a heavy burden.

For this year’s financing a college education issue, we’ve gone bar-gain hunting. Setting as our criteria total yearly student costs of lessthan $20,000 for in state students, and a threshold of 25 percentHispanic students at each school, we’ve compiled a list of schools thatseem to give the biggest financial and cultural bang for the buck forHispanic students.

Schools from seven states made our list. The states represent only tworegions of the country – the Northwest and the Southwest. Six of theseven states represented are in the Southwest – Arizona, California,Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico and Texas. The Northwest is representedby the state of Washington. Likewise, 48 of the 50 schools on our list arefrom the Southwest.

Texas leads the way for bargain hunters with 21 of its schools repre-sented, followed by New Mexico and California with nine schools each.Colorado and Kansas are next with four and three schools represented,respectively. Arizona and Washington State each have two schools on ourlist. Since we were only considering schools with at least 25 percentHispanic populations, it is not surprising to note that 36 of the 50 schoolswe listed are Hispanic-Serving Institutions.

While narrowing our focus to in-state student costs, we’ve also includedout-of-state student costs as a basis for comparison. In most cases, wedemonstrate that state residency makes an enormous difference when fam-ilies are trying to keep down costs. In most states, including California,Texas and Colorado, the difference between in-state and out-of-state costscan range from a low of $3,000 to a high of $14,000 annually (in the caseof the University of New Mexico-Main Campus). At a candidates’ debate,Texas governor and presidential candidate Rick Perry ran afoul of someGOP voters when he agreed that undocumented students should beallowed to pay in-state tuition. While that amounts to very little differenceat South Plains College or Coastal Bend College, it amounts to a $6,000 or$7,000 difference in other Texas schools.

Kansas has the most level playing field, financially, for in-state and out-of-state costs for students, with Donnelly College showing no differenceand the other two Kansas schools showing a difference of less than $700annually. In New Mexico, similarly, the difference in costs for in-state andout-of-state students at New Mexico Junior College is a mere $120.00annually. California shows the most consistent wide gap between in-stateand out-of-state student costs with the Cal State system showing an averagegap of $11,000.

In these tough economic times, spending $10,000 or $20,000 a yearon college (or considerably less when grants and loans are put into themix) can be daunting. The website TheBestCollege.org has some interest-ing choices for students seeking a tuition-free education. The competitionfor these schools is tough, and they accept very few applicants, however, afree tuition school is hard to ignore.

College of the Ozarks, Point Lookout, Mo.You might hear a lot about the College of the Ozarks during the upcom-

ing presidential campaign. Some GOP candidates tout schools like Collegeof the Ozarks because of its strict work-to-learn program. In fact, it hasbeen nicknamed “Hard Work U” by locals and the press. The collegeaccepts a limited number of students in financial need for the 34 academicareas it offers. Its 1,000-acre campus is on Lake Taneycomo in southwest-ern Missouri. In exchange for tuition-free schooling, students must work15 hours a week when classes are in session and 40-hour weeks whenschool is not in session. Students are graded on their work just as they aregraded on their academic classes. There is a student body of about 1,500and a student-faculty ratio of 13-to-1.

Berea College, Berea, Ky.Berea College has a rigorous work/study program. The school was

founded in 1855 and was the South’s first interracial and co-ed school.Berea is able to offer free tuition to its students because of the largeamount of endowment money as well as federal and state grants it receives.Students must participate in the school’s work program to cover the costsof room and board and other expenses. Along with free tuition, all studentsreceive a free computer that they can take with them when they graduate.Berea offers 28 fields of study and has a 10-1 ratio of students-to-faculty.

Alice Lloyd College, Pippa Passes, Ky.Alice Lloyd College was established in 1923 by Alice Spencer Geddes

Lloyd of Cambridge, Mass., and June Buchanan of New York City to educatelocal leaders. Students are selected from 108 counties in the Appalachianregion of the country. Its program requires students to work a minimum of160 hours per semester on campus or in the local community. The schooloffers 13 degree programs and advanced prep studies in law and medicine.

Cooper Union, New York City, N.Y.Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art has been offering

free tuition since it was founded in 1859 by Peter Cooper, an Americaninventor, manufacturer and philanthropist. The school offers degree pro-grams in architecture, fine arts, and some engineering disciplines. Itenjoys a student-faculty ratio of 8.5-to-1. Although most of its students areaccepted on a needs and academic basis, 7 percent of the student body isaccepted on merit alone, without regard to financial need.

FINANCE



Colleges with Tuition Under $20K Per YearIn-State Tuition Out-of-State Tuition Hispanic

Total Price for Year 2010 State Living on Campus Living on Campus %Central Arizona College * AZ 11,232 17,952 27Arizona Western College * AZ 14,314 18,874 57Taft College * CA 10,224 15,714 47Reedley College * CA 11,986 16,690 50West Hills College Coalinga * CA 12,884 17,084 55California State University-Bakersfield * CA 17,983 29,143 43California State University-Monterey Bay * CA 18,591 29,751 33California State Polytechnic University-Pomona * CA 18,604 29,764 33California State University-Stanislaus * CA 19,142 30,302 37California State University-Los Angeles * CA 19,611 30,771 51California State University-San Bernardino * CA 19,683 30,843 46Colorado Heights University CO 12,480 21,240 36Otero Junior College * CO 14,706 17,542 28Trinidad State Junior College CO 15,178 18,013 42Adams State College * CO 17,006 26,966 32Dodge City Community College KS 11,536 12,016 33Garden City Community College KS 11,588 12,292 29Donnelly College * KS 15,778 15,778 31New Mexico Junior College * NM 9,280 9,400 41Eastern New Mexico University-Roswell Campus * NM 12,051 15,293 41University of New Mexico-Los Alamos Campus NM 13,816 16,240 41Eastern New Mexico University-Main Campus * NM 14,717 20,249 33Northern New Mexico College * NM 15,263 20,854 68New Mexico Highlands University * NM 16,035 17,715 55Western New Mexico University * NM 16,976 26,576 55University of New Mexico-Main Campus * NM 17,918 31,103 39New Mexico State University-Main Campus * NM 18,463 29,743 48South Plains College TX 8,036 8,420 30Galveston College * TX 9,640 10,540 28Howard College TX 9,758 10,458 28Clarendon College TX 9,801 10,545 29Wharton County Junior College TX 10,230 10,998 30Coastal Bend College * TX 10,331 10,331 65Southwest Texas Junior College * TX 11,267 11,567 82Odessa College TX 11,321 12,371 38Midland College * TX 11,326 12,316 28Western Texas College * TX 11,732 12,332 31Texas A&M University-Kingsville * TX 14,646 21,726 66The University of Texas of the Permian Basin * TX 15,375 22,815 40The University of Texas-Pan American * TX 15,420 22,860 90Sul Ross State University * TX 15,468 22,908 64The University of Texas at Brownsville * TX 15,845 23,905 89University of Houston-Victoria TX 16,220 25,520 25Angelo State University TX 17,538 24,978 26Texas State University-San Marcos * TX 18,438 25,878 26Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi * TX 19,029 26,167 41The University of Texas at San Antonio * TX 19,079 26,519 46University of Houston * TX 19,913 27,353 26Yakima Valley Community College WA 9,829 10,229 38Big Bend Community College WA 13,365 13,755 32

* Indicates Hispanic-Serving Institution Data from IPEDS NCES database 2010-2011

Colleges with Tuition Under $20K Per Year

$3.8 billion.That’s the price tag Mark Schneider affixed to the nation’s college

dropout rate. And, he explained in a new report, the costs only get steeperas the college completion rate stretches on for years.

“The system we have now is not working well for too many students,”Schneider said, “and the point is that dropouts are disproportionatelycoming out of community colleges and comprehensive colleges where low-income, ethnic and first-generation students are much more likely to go.”

The losses amass and aren’t just in the number of students who departhigher education. They are the fiscal stresses exacted on the country as awhole, an economic impact that inevitably hits taxpayers where it mightresonate the most: in the wallet.

“I asked, ‘What happens when these students won’t graduate? Howmuch are they giving up? How much is the taxpayer losing by these stu-dents dropping out?’”

The answers are contained in one of three reports Schneider pennedfor the American Institutes for Research (AIR). The report, The High Costof Low Graduation Rates: Taxpayers Lose Millions, focused on a cohortof students to tabulate the sizeable losses incurred annually by each andevery graduating class.

Schneider’s report, created with researcher Lu (Michelle) Yu, foundthat more than 40 percent of incoming freshmen likely won’t earn adegree within six years, costing billions of dollars in lost earnings for thestudents and millions of dollars in lost tax revenue.

This crucial loss comes while President Barack Obama set a lofty goalthat by the year 2020 the country will have the highest proportion of adultswith college degrees in the world.

The report stressed, however, that colleges and universities are never-theless graduating only slightly more than half of their students. Whilemuch of the cost of dropping out is borne by the students, who might haveamassed debts in pursuit of a degree, the report calculated the high costsof the low completion rates in terms of lost income and in lower taxreceipts for federal and state governments.

“As a nation, we incur hundreds of millions of dollars in lost incomeeach year,” it read. “These losses translate into millions of dollars in lostincome taxes. President Obama’s call for the United States to regain thelead as the nation in the world with the highest concentration of collegeand university degrees has a fiscal underpinning that is beyond question:Low college graduation rates are costly for students, for their families, andfor taxpayers in each state and the nation as a whole.”

A nonprofit based in Washington, D.C., AIR is one of the largest behav-ioral and social science research organizations in the world. The organiza-tion, founded in 1946, wields scientific data to highlight ideas andapproaches to improve everyday life. Most recently, AIR released threereports describing troubling patterns in higher education, and their effects.

One report, The Hidden Cost of Community Colleges, focused on thehigh costs of the low retention and completion rates that are often too typical atcommunity colleges, which enrolled more than six million students last year.

AIR focused on only first-time, full-time, degree- and certificate-seeking

FINANCE


Mark Schneider, visiting scholar,American Enterprise Institute,and VP, American Institutes forResearch, said the federally

funded research anddevelopment work involvingcommunity and four-yearcolleges is a disaster.

High Cost of Low Grad Rates$3.8 billion.

by Jeff Simmons

students in community colleges and, using data from the U.S. Departmentof Education, found that community colleges are generating costs to thetaxpayer that are usually not part of the discussion of their role inAmerica’s system of higher education.

In the third report, Finishing the First Lap: The Cost of First-YearAttrition in America’s Four-Year Colleges and Universities, AIR reviewedfederal data and determined that 30 percent of first-year college studentswho dropped out before starting a second year accounted for $6.2 billionin state appropriations for colleges and universities and more than $1.4billion in student grants from the states.

Additionally, the federal government provided $1.5 billion in grants tothese students. Further, the report found that 13 states posted more than $200million of state funds lost to students dropping out before that second year.

“There is a consistent theme in all of this,” Schneider said. “I believethat institutions are not doing a sufficient job in terms of helping studentswho are harder to educate than White, middle-class kids; they are notdoing what they need to do to have more students complete their degrees.”

Adriana Flores-Ragade, director of diversity initiatives for the CollegeBoard, agreed, stating: “Without having an educated Latino community, wewill not be able to reach any of our goals.”

The College Board just released its College Completion Agenda LatinoEdition, which charts Latino demographic growth and notes disturbingdropout rates. For instance, the College Board found that:• Latino youth now represent the largest minority group in K-12 schools inthe country, and are the fastest-growing segment of students; but they are alsothe largest group of students dropping out of high school before graduation• 19.2 percent of Latino 25- to 34-year-olds had attained an associatedegree or higher, less than half the national rate; the national average is41.1 percent, with 69.1 percent of Asian-American, 48.7 percent of Whiteand 29.4 percent of African-American 25- to 34-year-olds attaining anassociate degree or higher as of 2009• Latino students represent the largest group of students dropping out ofhigh school before graduation; in 2008, approximately one in five Latinosleft high school before graduation• As of 2008, 45.1 percent of undergraduate Latino students requiredsome remediation

“The College Board is working with Univision on an outreach cam-paign,” Flores-Ragade said of the increased efforts to boost the rate.“Getting to the parents is really making a difference. We have to engagefamilies to help with college retention.”

In The High Cost of Low Graduation Rates, Schneider pointed out theeconomic toll exacted by the troubling dropout rates. For students who inthe fall of 2002 started as full-time students seeking bachelor’s degrees butfailed to graduate six years later, the cost to the country was: $3.8 billion inlost income; $566 million in lost federal income taxes; and $164 million inlost state income taxes.

And, Schneider noted, those estimated losses were only for one year,and for one class of students. Such losses accumulate each year.

AIR analyzed the most recent available graduation data, for the 2008-09academic year, from the federal education department’s IntegratedPostsecondary Education Data System, or IPEDS, to calculate estimates oflost incomes and taxes, estimating the number of students who dropped outfrom each four-year degree-granting campus covered by IPEDS. Campus-by-campus numbers were pooled to total the number of dropouts in each state.

AIR cautioned that the calculation underestimates the number of col-lege dropouts because part-time students graduate at even lower rates thanthe full-time ones covered by IPEDS, which also doesn’t track transfer stu-dents who might go on to graduate at another school.

Further, AIR analyzed the median earnings of young adults with somecollege experience but no degree, and those with a bachelor’s degree. Forexample, the income gap between college dropouts and college graduatesfor 21- to 24-year-olds, adjusted to 2010 dollars, was less than $8,000 inKansas, Hawaii, North Carolina, Washington and Florida, but more than$11,000 in California, New Jersey and New York.

Multiplying this gap between college dropouts and college graduates bythe number of dropouts produces an estimate of lost earnings for each state.

Additionally, to estimate the size of the lost federal income taxes, usingthe 2010 federal tax rate schedule, AIR calculated the federal income taxesdue at the income level of a college graduate versus the income level of ayoung adult with some college but no degree. Summing those numbers upacross states produced the national estimate: $566 million.

AIR pointed out which states lost more than $100 million annually inincome as a result, with California (at $386 million), New York (at $359 mil-lion), Texas ($341 million), Pennsylvania ($185 million) and Illinois ($173million) topping the list. As a result, those states lost $57 million, $53 million,$51 million, $27 million and $25 million in federal taxes, respectively.

The numbers were dramatically worse when viewed over a lifetime. InCalifornia, for example, college dropouts were losing nearly $15 billion inearnings over their work lives, costing the federal government more than$3 billion in lost income taxes. College dropouts from New York and Texaswere losing more than $13 billion in earnings over their lifetime and morethan $2.5 billion in federal taxes. And, dropouts in other states, includingIllinois and Florida, were losing more than $5 billion in lifetime earningsand more than $1 billion in federal taxes.

“Students who start college but do not graduate incur large personalexpenses,” the report noted. “They pay thousands of dollars in tuition, theylikely take out loans, they change their lives, but they fail in one of the mostimportant goals they have ever set for themselves. In the meantime, taxpay-ers pay billions of dollars in grants and state appropriations to supportthese students as they pursue degrees they will never earn.”

Experts echoed Schneider’s assessment, that the most affected studentsare those from low-income families, the first in their families to attend col-lege, and struggling academically. And more often than not, the Hispanicstudents are disproportionately affected.

Carlos Santiago, CEO of the Hispanic College Fund, said colleges muststrengthen efforts not just to attract Hispanic students to attend higher edu-cation institutions but to retain them once they are there, and guide themto graduation.

“While we realize that universities make certain efforts to increaseretention, it’s not their core mission and it leaves many Latino studentsbehind,” Santiago said. “The truth is that students aren’t getting the kind ofattention that they need, and particularly Latino students. So many of themare first-generation that they cannot turn to a family member and ask‘What did you do to stay in college, and how did you juggle work and stud-ies.’ Students are left to fend for themselves.” The fiscal strain affects every-one from the individual student to the country.

“It is expensive for us to go out and find the resources for these stu-dents, but it’s also expensive for the students to not complete their degree.They are left with a lot of debt and very serious issues that they are going tohave to face. The family and the community are all negatively impacted ifthese students don’t finish,” he said.

Scholarships alone won’t help if they are viewed as simply pots ofmoney. Instead, organizations like the Hispanic College Fund are re-brand-ing their fiscal support as a service, ones that provide resources – such aspre-college programs offering more comprehensive information – to helpstudents get to, and stay, in school.


“This is hugely important,” Santiago said. “The demographics alone indicatehow important this population is, and no one denies that. What’s interestingabout this report is it really starts to cement the costs of leaving people behind.”

Bob Wise, West Virginia’s former governor, and now the president of theAlliance for Excellent Education, said the root of low Hispanic graduationrates is planted in the earlier grades, when Hispanic students typically trailWhite peers, most noticeably on fourth- and eighth-grade reading scores.

The Nation’s Report Card (the National Assessment of EducationalProgress) in 2011 identified a 22-point gap in average reading scores ofWhite and Hispanic eighth-graders, only a three-point improvement overthe last decade.

“At that rate, it would take more than 50 years for the gap to closecompletely,” Wise said. “Without strong reading skills, students tend tostruggle once they encounter more challenging subject matter in high

school. This challenge is reflected in graduation rates, which areapproaching 80 percent for White students, but are below 60 percent forHispanic students.”

According to an analysis by the Alliance for Excellent Education, if justhalf of the approximately 360,000 Hispanic students who dropped outfrom the class of 2010 had graduated, together these 180,000 new gradu-ates would likely be earning an additional $2.2 billion each year comparedto what they will earn without a high school diploma, he noted.

What does this all mean for the country? Already, 60 percent of jobsrequire some form of education after high school, but too many of thenation’s Hispanic students aren’t even earning a high school diploma, theticket to higher education.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Hispanic population is pro-jected to nearly triple - from 46.7 million to 132.8 million – during the

2008-2050 period. This population increasecoupled with continually lagging graduationrates will yield severe economic woes.

“Because the country’s economic strength isinextricably tied to the education level of its citi-zens, American high schools will need to signifi-cantly increase the percentage of Hispanic stu-dents who receive a high school diploma, or riskweakening the nation’s economy,” Wise said.

The Alliance for Excellent Education affixed asimilarly compelling price-tag on low graduationrates: Nationwide, if high schools and collegeswere able to boost the graduation rates ofHispanic, African-American and Native Americanstudents to the levels of White students by 2020,the potential increase in personal income acrossthe nation would add, conservatively, more than$310 billion to the economy.

“Preparation for success in college beginslong before a student walks onto a college cam-pus,” Wise said. “Raising the college graduationrate for Hispanic students first means graduatingmore Hispanic students from high school withthe skills they need to succeed in college.”

One way to combat this problem is to investmore resources into research and development.Schneider said the federally funded research anddevelopment work involving community and four-year colleges is a disaster.

“It’s almost nonexistent,” he said. “The workis almost exclusively focused on K-12, which isimportant. But given how much money is atstake, we have a terrible ‘R and D’ effort at a fed-eral level.”

Additionally, the data systems that are inplace federally need to be utilized better to trackwhat happens with many of these students, par-ticularly ones who transfer to other institutions.That alone would give a clearer picture of theultimate graduation rate.

“Without good research and developmentand a good data system that you could trackwhat’s happening,” he said, “we are stuck withpretty much an empty playbook.”


Are America’sHigh SchoolsPreparingStudents forCollege?by Gary M. Stern

Whodo you ask to ascertain whether high schools prepareAmerican students for college and work? The CollegeBoard decided to go right to the source – recent high

school graduates. In August 2011, it hired Hart Research Associates to survey1,500 of 2010’s high school graduates about the effects of high school ontheir lives and postsecondary studies. That led to the report One Year Out.

The College Board noted that reports have been written from the per-spective of college faculty and administrators but overlooked the viewpointof recent graduates with one-year hindsight on high school. It figured theirviewpoint could prove beneficial and useful to educators, administratorsand college staff, said Trevor Packer, a vice president at the College Board,based in New York. It hoped the report could fill “a gap in understandingof the experience of students who have left high school,” he added.

The dominant themes that emerged from One Year Out included thefollowing: 1) high school requirements are too easy and school curricu-lums don’t make enough academic demands on students; 2) studentsshould be required to take more math and science courses – that decisionshouldn’t be left to them; 3) as a result of lax demands, high school gradu-ates aren’t sufficiently prepared to handle many college courses.

Of the students surveyed, half by telephone and half online, 69 percentsaid that high school requirements were too easy and only 30 percent foundhigh school classes challenging. Students polled consisted of 59 percentWhite students, 18 percent Latino, 16 percent African-American, 4 percentAsian-American and 3 percent other. Of that number, 43 percent hadenrolled in a four-year college; 25 percent, community college; 6 percent,trade school; and 26 percent did not enroll in any postsecondary institution.

When Frances Contreras, director of the Higher Education Program atthe University of Washington and author of Achieving Equity for LatinoStudents, first read One Year Out, what surprised her was that 86 percentof students said college was essential to establishing a strong career. Shesaid there’s been a backlash against viewing college as a necessity and thesurvey reveals that students are optimistic about the value of a college edu-cation. What concerned her was the difficulty students faced financing their

postsecondary education – more about that later.The fact that nearly 70 percent of students thought high school didn’t

make enough academic demands on them validated “that many of them areentering college and can’t perform at the level of expectation,” Packer said.That lack of ability to meet minimum standards forces colleges to place con-siderable resources into remedial classes, often at no credit for the student.

Fixing the ProblemOne underlying problem that the report raises is that most high school

students aren’t receiving enough counseling or guidance early on in theireducation, Packer said. Many students don’t ascertain what college expectsof them until their junior or senior year, and by that time it’s too late tocatch up. “Students need counseling in sixth, seventh and eighth grades sothey can make incremental steps toward college,” he noted.

Packer pointed to South Bronx Preparatory – a K-12 charter schooloverseen by the College Board and located in one of the poorest districts inthe country – that has had success helping students attain national levels formath, science and English. Its teachers also provide counseling and helpguide students to take a more demanding, rigorous curriculum, which con-tributes to their academic success and putting them on a college path.“They’re aligning curriculum along grade levels; students are experiencinga vigorous course of study step by step and through each grade,” he says.

Contreras said that there’s been a “disconnect between colleges andhigh schools.” Colleges need to see high schools as a partner. Since manyhigh school budgets have been depleted, colleges must step up and take amore active role in K-12 public schools, collaborate with faculty and helpestablish minimum standards. For example, she said the University ofSouthern California’s Diversity Scorecard Project, which mostly addressedhigher education issues, also connects college faculty with local highschools to collaborate on college transition. That partnership entails artic-ulating requirements to ensure college readiness.

Here are other key responses from One Year Out:1. A walloping 80 percent of high school graduates said they’d like to see

FINANCE


curriculum strengthened and more rigorous academic demands made on them.2. Graduates were also self-critical; nearly half said they wished they

had worked harder in high school so they would be better prepared forsecondary education. In fact, 40 percent of students wished they havetaken more math courses; and 33 percent, more science.

3. Of the students attending college, 54 percent said first-year collegecourses were more difficult than they expected. In fact, 24 percent of stu-dents were obligated to take remedial or developmental courses.

4. More than four of five graduates said Advancement Placement orInternational Baccalaureate courses were more rewarding than the typicalhigh school classes and better prepared them for college.

Why Students Aren’t Taking More Math and SciencePacker attributes the dearth of students taking sufficient math and sci-

ence courses to the lack of consistent state requirements. Most high schoolsdemand that students take four years of English but make math and sciencevoluntary, and that ultimately does students a disservice. He says becauseAmerican students fare so poorly in international rankings in math and sci-ence testing, the tide has turned and requirements are being strengthened.

Latino Students Showing ImprovementThough Latino and minority students are often criticized for not meet-

ing minimum academic standards, Packer says Latino students are making

“impressive results nationwide. Part of that is due to the influence of par-ents and through leaders.” For example, in Florida, Hispanic students out-number White students in AP classes and outperform White and Spanishstudents in AP exams. Packer says many states have been encouragingqualified students to take more AP classes and reduce their college billssince they receive college credit if they pass the AP exam.

Of the 26 percent of students who didn’t start college immediately, 80percent of them said they plan on starting college at a later time. But stud-ies show that most students who defer college get caught up in work andlife and don’t enroll as intended. Packer says though some students take ayear off, many lose interest in college and get sidetracked. “Many who saythey want to attend won’t, particularly minority students,” he says. If col-leges could obtain a database of names of nearby graduates, it might helpto reach them at an earlier stage.

In order to reach minority students who are exploring college, four-yearcolleges must do a more effective job of targeting them in community col-leges, Contreras said. Often a minority student might take one course forwork or several for a certificate, and that’s the time when they’re ready tolearn about earning an associate degree and moving on to a four-yeardegree. That entails four-year colleges performing more active outreach atcommunity colleges, establishing communication, forming partnerships andstaying in touch with admissions departments. For example, if a studenttook one course in nursing, admissions might suggest a two-year program.Dealing with College Finances Hasn’t Been Easy

Not only must high school students strengthen themselves academically,but handling tuition and other costs of a college education has become analbatross for the majority of students. Indeed, 55 percent of high schoolgraduates said figuring out a way to afford college has been difficult, andthat number rose to 65 percent for students attending private colleges.Seventy percent of students either took out loans or worked 10 hours aweek, and 20 percent did both. Of the 26 percent of students who didn’tstart college immediately, 56 percent of them identified the high cost as asignificant obstacle to starting college.

Many minority students in particular are reluctant to take out loans toattend college, Contreras said. “Loans set up many students for failure.Some can’t repay the loans.” One way to minimize the need for loans is tobroaden the requirements for merit loans, so more Latino and minoritystudents who show interest in math, science and engineering, for example,are eligible. It shouldn’t only be the top 10 percent of students whodeserve merit scholarships.

In fact, 70 percent of students polled had to work 10 hours a week,and Contreras says research shows that most Latino students must work 20hours a week minimum. Forced to work that many hours affects theirgrades and retention. Work-study programs used to serve as one way tooffset the need for devoting so many hours to work, but many of those pro-grams have been eliminated due to state budget cuts. Restoring themwould heighten graduation rate of Latino students.

Packer sees better counseling as another way to offset some of the diffi-culties students are facing paying for colleges. If students received counsel-ing in middle school and as a freshman, they can begin to address theissue and arrange a plan or blueprint to obtain financial aid. Moreover, hesays most students need assistance matching their academic level withchoosing the right college that is also affordable.Rising Number of Latinos Taking AP Courses

Advanced Placement courses produced the most positive effect on high


Trevor Packer, vice president, the College Board

school students. Packer, who used to head AP at the College Board, notesthat college faculties develop these courses with high school teachers andunderstand what’s expected in postsecondary classes. Over the last fewyears, AP participation in high school has been rising about 10 percent ayear, and over the last few years, Latino involvement has been increasingaround 20 percent annually.

If Packer could see two actions that emanate as a result of this report,he suggests: 1) a widespread national commitment to increasing the num-ber of counselors who can help students in their college preparation andreach students at a younger age, not waiting until they were juniors orseniors in high school; 2) requiring students to take more rigorous acade-mic courses in high school, particularly in math and science, which willprepare them better to handle college academics.

Contreras would like to see the report lead to states “rethinking howwe invest in this generation. Taxpayers should receive incentives for help-ing children through college. Working families should receive incentives,”she said, which would make college more affordable.

Bottom line, graduating students have said loud and clear that “stu-dents need education beyond high school to succeed. Vocational programsaren’t enough,” Contreras noted. But for Latino and other students to suc-ceed in college, high schools must increase academic demands, and col-leges need to play a more active role in partnering with high schools.


Frances Contreras, director, Higher Education Program, University ofWashington, author of Achieving Equity for Latino Students

DEAN OF THE SCHOOL OFVETERINARY MEDICINE

UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON

The University of Wisconsin-Madison invites applications and nominationsfor the position of dean of its School of Veterinary Medicine. UW-Madisonis a major land-grant university committed to excellence in teaching,research and public service with revenues of $2.4 billion, a student body ofapproximately 42,000 and faculty/staff of approximately 20,000. Theuniversity seeks a charismatic individual with a record of visionary,optimistic leadership who can extend the school’s positive trajectory inresearch/scholarship, learning, and public service through a bold vision ofthe role of veterinary medicine in discovery, research translation and globalhealth. The dean reports to the chancellor and the provost, serves on theuniversity’s council of deans, and provides leadership for veterinarymedicine and public health initiatives across the campus. The dean serves asthe chief academic and executive officer of the school with responsibility forfaculty and staff development, personnel oversight, fund raising, budgetplanning and management, curriculum, student academic affairs, clinicalresources, and facilities development. The school, with a budget of $54.5million, including research expenditures of $20.2 million, is comprised ofapproximately 325 FTE faculty and staff, and 300 FTE employees intraining, graduate assistants and student hourly workers. The dean hasoversight of the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, which includesresponsibility for teaching within the hospital, patient care, and research, aswell as several units dedicated to basic science research and teaching. Thedean holds a shared responsibility for promoting and facilitating the successof the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory.

Please see http://secfac.wisc.edu/searches/VetMedDean/2012/vacancyannouncement.htm for more information about the deanship.

Candidates must have a record of scholarship and teaching that qualifiesthem for a tenured appointment at the rank of full professor at the Universityof Wisconsin-Madison, and hold the earned degree of Doctor of VeterinaryMedicine (DVM) or equivalent.

Electronic applications and nominations must be received by 9 March 2012to ensure consideration. Later applications and nominations may also beconsidered. The committee particularly encourages applications andnominations of women and persons of underrepresented groups. Applicantsshould include a current resume or curriculum vitae and a comprehensivecover letter that addresses how their strengths and experience match thequalifications for the position, and what they see as challenges andopportunities of the position, as well as the names, addresses, emailaddresses, and telephone numbers of five references. Candidates will beconsulted before references are contacted. Please note that in accordancewith Wisconsin statutes the names of nominees and applicants who explicitlyrequest confidentiality will not be made public, although the university isrequired to release the names and titles of the finalists who will beinterviewed by the chancellor and the provost. Submit applications andnominations electronically to the School of Veterinary Medicine DeanSearch and Screen Committee at:

[email protected]

Questions may be directed to the search committee office at 608-262-1677 or [email protected]

The University of Wisconsin-Madison is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action Employer.

MMoorree HHiissppaanniiccss TTaakkiinngg OOuutt RRiisskkyyPPrriivvaattee LLooaannss ttoo PPaayy ffoorr CCoolllleeggeeby Marilyn Gilroy

Anincreasing number of Hispanics aretaking out private student loans to paytuition bills, a strategy experts say is

one of the riskiest ways to finance a college edu-cation. These loans typically have uncapped, vari-able interest rates that are highest for those whocan least afford them, such as low-income, first-generation students. Private student loans alsolack important consumer protections and flexiblerepayment options that come with federal studentloans, such as unemployment defer-ments, income-based repayment, andpublic service loan forgiveness.

A new report from The Projecton Student Debt at the Institute forCollege Access & Success (TICAS)says many students who take out pri-vate loans could have taken out saferfederal loans but did not do so for avariety of reasons, including notunderstanding the differencebetween the two types of debt. Thereport, Critical Choices: HowColleges Can Help Students andFamilies Make Better DecisionsAbout Private Loans, shows thatcollege financial aid offices can andshould play a significant role inreducing their students’ reliance onprivate loans.

“College financial aid officeshave unique opportunities andresponsibilities to help people makeinformed and affordable choicesabout student loans,” said TICASpresident Lauren Asher. “Millions ofstudents end up with risky andexpensive private loans when theyactually have safer options, and thefinancial consequences can be dev-astating and last a lifetime. We found that coun-seling and information at critical decision pointscan really help borrowers make smarter choic-es.”

According to TICAS research, the percentageof Hispanic undergraduates who took out private

loans more than doubled between 2003-04 and2007-08, from 5 percent to 13 percent. Duringthis time period, overall private loan volumegrew substantially, from $6.5 billion to $17.1billion. African-American undergraduates regis-tered the highest percentage increase, whichquadrupled from 4 percent to 17 percent. Thesefigures are based on the latest available datafrom the U.S. Department of Education’sNational Postsecondary Student Aid Study, which

is conducted every four years.The advantages of federal loans begin with

interest rates that can vary from 3.4 percent forsubsidized Stafford loans to 8.5 percent forloans targeted at graduate students, known asGrad PLUS. Private loans can carry interest rates

as high as 19 percent. Another advantage of fed-eral loans is that repayment terms can be modi-fied to an income-based plan. This means if aborrower is unemployed or working in a low-wage job, the monthly payments are structuredso the debt is more manageable.

But even though the terms of borrowing obvi-ously favor federal loans, there are several rea-sons why an increasing number of Hispanics andother students are gravitating to private loans.

Mark Kantrowitz, publisher ofFinAid.org, examined why studentborrowers take out private loansinstead of the cheaper federal loansthat have better repayment plans. Hefound that more than half of under-graduates who borrowed from theprivate sector cited the complexity ofthe federal student loan applicationprocess, which requires the submis-sion of the Free Application forFederal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. Inaddition, some students think theirfamilies earn too much to qualify forfederal student loans when, in fact,there is no income limit.

“Students who believe that theywill not qualify for federal grantsand who want loans might prefer anapplication process that takes just afew minutes to one that requireshours of work, despite the lowercost and better repayment terms offederal education loans,” Kantrowitzwrote in a recent analysis of bor-rowing patterns.

Although the FAFSA form hasbeen simplified in recent years, itstill can be an obstacle for someHispanic students because of their

family immigration status. The Project on StudentDebt report said that one of the most commonreasons that financial aid administrators hearfrom students about why they apply for privateloans is that they do not want to give personalinformation to the government. This can be the

FINANCE


Matthew Reed, program director, TICAS

case for Hispanic students who were born in theU.S. but have parents who are undocumentedimmigrants. The students themselves are eligiblefor federal student aid but might be reluctant toapply because of their parents’ status.

However, many of the reasons for theincrease in private loans for college are basedon widespread misinformation. Some of the mis-leading information comes from marketing tech-niques for private loans that use ease of applica-tion to appeal to students. Teaser ads on manyInternet sites promise a simple applicationprocess and fast decisions, sometimes as fast asthree minutes or less. They also attract borrow-ers by touting initial low interest rates.

“The marketing doesn’t tell the whole story,”said Matthew Reed, program director, TICAS.“They might have an initial low rate, but thoserates are often variable. If you are paying theloan over a 10- or 20-year time period, theinterest rate could go up significantly.”

Some experts predict that if interest rates dorise on thousands of loans, it could lead to a hugedefault problem down the road, much like whathappened in the subprime mortgage market.

Reed says that even fixed rate private loansare not safe because they have none of the usualconsumer protections that come with credit cardand bank loans.

Despite these cautions, there are other fac-tors that drive Hispanics to choose private loans,and it all starts with where they enroll in college.

Many Hispanics go back to school as adultstudents and attend school part time while alsosupporting other family members. For this rea-son, they need a nontraditional pathway to adegree and choose to enroll in expensive, for-profit colleges, the higher education sector inwhich students are the most likely to borrow.When they apply for financial aid, the schoolsends a letter outlining a package of assistance.

“One of the most problematic practices is howloans are packaged,” said Reed. “Some for-profitinstitutions send electronic notifications regardingfinancial aid which includes federal grants, loansand private loans. It looks like the institution isgiving tacit approval to these loans, which mightkeep families from looking to other places.”

In other cases, Hispanic students who attendtwo-year colleges might be forced to turn to pri-vate loans because some of the colleges do notparticipate in federal loan programs. As theProject for Student Debt says, these students are“between a rock and a hard place.” Accordingto the project, there are more than one million

students in 31 states enrolled in colleges thatblock students’ access to federal student loans.Many of these colleges have opted out of federalloan programs because of their concern aboutstudents’ ability to repay the loans and that ahigh cohort default rate could affect the college’sreputation and access to other federal grants.

Of Hispanic students in community colleges,8.5 percent are enrolled in nonparticipating col-

leges. In California and Texas, two states withsignificant Hispanic populations, the number ofHispanic two-year college students withoutaccess to federal aid is higher, at 11.2 percentand 9.8 percent, respectively. If these studentswant to borrow, they must either use credit carddebt or private loans to pay for their collegeexpenses.

Students Toward Cheaper, Safer LoansThe Critical Choices report documents

promising practices used by a variety of financialaid offices to help prospective borrowers avoiddebt that is risky and costly. It also identifies keyopportunities in which colleges can guide stu-dents’ and parents’ borrowing decisions. In inter-views, the financial aid administrators shared thebroad consensus that students who want to bor-row should use a “federal first” approach, buttheir practices varied considerably.

The most promising practices involve someform of counseling for students who apply forprivate loans, particularly those with untappedfederal loan eligibility. In these cases, financialaid officers intervene by phone, letter, or e-mail,to influence students during the decision-makingprocess about what type of loan to use. The out-reach includes financial literacy counseling,

making sure that students understand debt man-agement and default risks.

For example, Loyola University of NewOrleans requires students applying for privatestudent loans who have not completed a FAFSAto sign and return a form acknowledging thechoice to not file for a federal loan or indicatethey will now file a FAFSA before continuing theirpursuit of a private loan.

Colorado State University contacts studentsand has a phone conversation about the advan-tages of federal loans over private loans beforecertifying a private loan.

At San Diego State University, in whichapproximately 30 percent of the student body isLatino, students must complete an online “alter-native loan counseling process” before theschool will certify a private student loan.

These strategies have been successful. Atschools that tracked the impact of their interven-tion policies, about half or more of studentscontacted changed their borrowing plans.

Chris Collins, associate director in the Officeof Financial Aid and Scholarships at San DiegoState University, says his area generates annualreports to determine if private loan use isincreasing or decreasing, and to provide insightsinto the effectiveness of existing programs.

“Private loan borrowing decreased markedlyafter we implemented alternative loan counsel-ing as a requirement, and we will be consideringadditional enhancements to our private loanapproach in the future,” he said. “We are com-mitted to educating students about their optionsregarding private loans, and we are optimisticthat this approach will help students avoid beingoverwhelmed with unmanageable loan debt.”


-

Matthew Reed hopes that more institutionswill adopt these types of policies and becomeproactive in helping students tap into their feder-al loan potential. He would like colleges anduniversities to dispel the myth that getting accessto federal money is a long and cumbersomeprocess.

“The federal loan process has becomefaster,” he said. “The whole application andreview is more streamlined and some financialaid officers say students can see the fund credit-ed to their account within a week’s time.”

Efforts to steer students toward federal stu-

dent loans got a boost when one of the biggestcomplaints regarding private loans gained theattention of Congress. At issue is the fact that pri-vate loans currently enjoy the same protection asfederal loans in that neither can be dischargedduring bankruptcy. However, federal loans,which are backed by taxpayer money, need thatprotection to make it difficult for students toavoid paying the loans. Many believe that privateloans, which are very profitable, do not deservethis protection and should be treated like creditcard loans, which can be discharged duringbankruptcy, thus making it undesirable for

lenders to make risky loans. Three senators andfour U.S. representatives have introduced legisla-tion that will eliminate unfair protection for pri-vate student loans.

“By repealing special treatment for privatelenders, we will hold banks accountable, protectyoung people from abusive lending practicesand provide relief for graduates trapped by loansthat can too often carry high interest rates andunfair terms,” said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., one of the sponsors of the bill.


Higher education is frequently considered a catalyst for social advancement, yet the sad reality isthat not everyone participates. Comprising a substantial part of this nonparticipating group aremembers of underrepresented minority groups. This is not from a lack of desire, but rather frommyriad obstacles they must overcome to successfully complete a postsecondary education. As a doc-toral student of educational leadership and policy analysis at the University of Missouri (MU), Ifocus my efforts on studying these numerous obstacles preventing members of our community fromsuccessfully partaking in higher education.

Prior to starting my graduate studies, I worked as a program coordinator for the GEAR UP pro-gram at the University of California-Irvine’s Center for Educational Partnerships. Through my work, Iserved as an advocate for Hispanic students and their families, providing them with opportunities tolearn about and pursue higher education. Now, as a doctoral student at MU, I continue this work,participating in efforts to enhance the experiences of Hispanic students on the University of Missouricampus. This includes efforts to make the university aware of the dramatic increase in the Hispanicpopulation across the state, especially at the K-12 level, with the intention of restructuring the uni-versity’s recruitment efforts to target and better serve Hispanic communities. Additionally, my posi-tion as research assistant helps me advance this agenda.

My research interests include college access, development and persistence for underrepresented student populations, the role of family for col-lege students, and the impact of financial aid policy on underrepresented student populations. My assistantships with a faculty member whoresearches the role of financial aid policy in college access, and with MU’s Economic & Policy Analysis Resource Center, evaluating state implement-ed college access programs for the Missouri Department of Higher Education and local school districts, help advance my research agenda. As impor-tant as my involvement in research opportunities is for my professional development, it is also my participation with national associations that

reminds me of my goals.As a graduate fellow for the American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education (AAHHE), I was given the opportuni-ty to actively engage with others who shared my passion. In doing so, I was able to share my experiences as a young

scholar and receive guidance that will be vital in my success. In conjunction with this support, I developed whatI am certain will be lifelong partnerships with other future scholars that are just as adamant as I am aboutHispanic educational issues. This, I know, will be instrumental in my success as a scholar.

BByy JJoosséé MMuuññoozzEducational Leadership and Policy Analysis, University of Missouri

SScchhoollaarrss’’ CCoorrnneerr

Closing the Education Gap:A Surge in Hispanic College Enrollmentby Paul Hoogeveen

Astunning 24 percent spike in Hispanic col-lege enrollment has brought young adultLatinos closer than ever to the enrollment

levels of other groups, according to a recentreport by the Pew Hispanic Center. The rapidsurge in enrollment growth is unprecedented –and not just in speed; it has led to a recordshare of Hispanics in the total number of youngadults enrolled in two- or four-year colleges inthe United States. It’s a welcome development,given that Hispanic college enrollment has per-sistently lagged behind that of other groups.

The report, Hispanic College EnrollmentSpikes, Narrowing Gaps with Other Groups,authored by Richard Fry, shows that the rapid,one-year surge in Hispanic enrollment sur-passed growth in all other groups in the 2009-10 academic year, and that it contributed greatlyto an overall surge in enrollment that led to anall-time high figure of 12.2 million young adultsenrolled in two- or four-year colleges in 2010.Interestingly, it also comes at a time when theHispanic poverty rate, as measured in the newSupplemental Census Measure, surpassed that ofall other groups. (See “Hispanic Poverty RateHighest In New Supplemental Census Measure,”Nov. 8, 2011, by Pew Hispanic Center.)

To tabulate the reported findings, Fry usedthe October 2010 Current Population Survey(CPS) for recent enrollment rate data and theU.S. Census for older enrollment estimates. Whatemerged is a picture of rapid growth in enroll-ment among minorities in recent years – partic-ularly following the 2008 recession.

Fry found that between 2009 and 2010,enrollment of 18- to-24-year-old Hispanic stu-dents increased by 349,000. This brought thenumber of Hispanics enrolled in college in2010 to 1.8 million, or 15 percent of the over-all enrollment of young adults in two- or four-year colleges. It’s a historic high for youngLatinos both in terms of numbers and share ofcollege students; in fact, in 2010 Latinosbecame the largest minority group among allcollege students.

Young adult Hispanics were not alone in

experiencing a surge in enrollment from 2009to 2010. Black enrollment also expanded by88,000 for a total of 1.7 million, while 43,000more young Asian-Americans joined the ranks oftwo- or four-year college enrollees, bringingtheir total to about 800,000. Young adult non-Hispanic Whites were the only group to show adecrease, down by 320,000 to a total of 7.7 mil-lion, making them, in 2010, just 63 percent ofall 18- to-24-year-olds enrolled in college. Thatis the lowest since 1993, when the U.S. CensusBureau first started publishing statistics for theyoung adult White population segment. (This

trend might be due, at least in part, to a concur-rent decrease in the population of White 18- to-24-year-olds.)

Among other developments, Fry determinedthat in 2010, young Hispanics – at a total of 1.8million – for the first time outnumbered Blackson college campuses, despite the concurrentsurge in Black enrollment. But while this is ahistoric first and positive development, youngHispanics continue to lag behind their Blackpeers in two significant measures.

First, while the total number of young Blacksenrolled in college in 2010 – at 1.7 million –

FINANCE/REPORTS


Change in 18- to 24-Year-Old College Enrollment,2009-2010

Notes: White includes only non-Hispanic Whites. All includes persons of otherracial and ethnic groups not separately shown.Source: Pew Hispanic Center analysis of the October 2010 Current PopulationSurvey and U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 1967 to 2009,http://www.census.gov/hhes/school/data/cps/historical/index.htmlPEW RESEARCH CENTER

All 140,000

349,000

88,000

43,000

White

Hispanic

Black

Asian

-320,000

fell behind that of young Hispanics, they contin-ued to show a higher rate of enrollment withintheir group. Thus, while enrollment of youngBlack students grew by 6 percent between 2008and 2010 – a much smaller surge than theirHispanic counterparts showed – a full 38 per-cent of all young Blacks were enrolled in collegein 2010. Meanwhile, despite the impressive 24percent gain, just 32 percent of all youngHispanics were enrolled in college – slightly lessthan three in 10.

Second, while Latinos outnumbered Blacks by200,000 at two-year colleges in 2010, Blacks stilloutnumbered Hispanics at four-year colleges,albeit at a shrinking rate. In 2010, about 1.1 mil-lion young Black students were enrolled in four-year institutions of higher learning, compared toone million Latino students. This is not entirelysurprising, given that Hispanics have tended toenroll with greater frequency at two-year collegesrather than at four-year colleges.

Forces Behind the SurgeWhile growth in the number of young

Hispanics is a factor, demographics alone aren’tresponsible for the surge, or even the primaryfactor. As the report indicates, in total, theHispanic 18- to 24-year-old populationincreased by only 7 percent from 2009 to 2010.

“They’re narrowing the gap,” said Fry,explaining that a far more important develop-ment appears to be at work: Latino educationalattainment at the high school level.

The population of 18- to 24-year-oldHispanics grew by 1.6 million in the past 10years, according to data Fry took from theOctober 2010 CPS, compared to an increase of1.5 million across the entire non-Hispanic col-lege-age population. Therefore, growth in thesheer number of Hispanics, absent any changesin completion rate at the secondary level, con-tributed at least somewhat to the higher rate ofcollege enrollment. However, a comparison of

population growth in the past 10 years (38 per-cent) with growth in high school completion (68percent) shows that population growth alonesimply could not account for the enrollmentsurge. This is apparent considering that the pop-ulation of young Hispanics in college has morethan doubled since the year 2000.

In fact, the report strongly indicates thatgrowth in high school completion, perhapsmore than any other factor, was largely responsi-ble for the record college enrollment level. AsFry put it in the report: “Hispanics becoming thenation’s largest minority among young collegestudents was foreshadowed by high school grad-uation statistics.”

Recent high school completion data clearlybear this out. In 2008, there were 449,000Hispanic public high school graduates; theirBlack counterparts numbered fewer at 432,000.But here again, population growth is not the onlyor even primary factor. The high school comple-tion rate of Hispanics grew to nearly 73 percentby October 2010, up three percentage pointsfrom the previous year – and completely unre-lated to population growth. In addition, Fry saidhigh school graduation projections indicate thatin 10 years’ time, Latino high school graduateswill outnumber Black high school graduates by aratio of 2-to-1.

Directly related to the increase in the number ofHispanic high school completers (in other words,young adults newly eligible for college) was a


67.8

62.8

50

55

60

65

70

75

80

1967 1972 1977 1982 1987 1992 1997 2002 2007

Great Recession begins

Great Recession ends

%

2011

Share of 20- to 24-Year-Olds Employed, First Quarter 1967 toSecond Quarter 2011

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics seasonally adjusted 20-24 employment to population series

PEW RESEARCH CENTER

72.7

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

1972 1977 1982 1987 1992 1997 2002 2007

%

2010

Hispanic 18- to 24-Year-Olds Completing HighSchool, 1972-2010

Source: Pew Hispanic Center analysis of the October 2010 Current Population Surveyand U.S,Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 1967 to 2009,http://www.census.gov/hhes/school/data/cps/historical/index.html

PEW RESEARCH CENTER

marked increase in college enrollment of college-eligible students who had completed high school in2010. From October 2009 to October 2010, therate of college-eligible Hispanics enrolled in collegegrew from 39 percent to 44 percent.

Hispanics make up an ever-increasing shareof the young adult population in the UnitedStates, according to the report. By October 2010,Hispanics and Blacks represented a full third ofthe 18- to 24-year-old population. And as severalprior studies have shown, both of these minoritygroups have demonstrated high school comple-tion rates that are below average. Thus, hadHispanic and Black completion rates notimproved, one might have expected to see theoverall average educational attainment to decline.But Fry pointed out that the opposite has actuallyoccurred, and U.S. high school completion hadreached at its highest level ever in October 2010,at 85 percent of all 18- to 24-year-olds.

College enrollment growth among youngBlack students, much as with their Hispaniccounterparts, was also due largely to a combina-tion of improved high school completion ratesand growth in the population of Black youngadults. In October 2010, the rate of youngBlacks who completed high school hit an all-time high of 83 percent. In the same time peri-od, 2010, 38 percent of Black 18- to 24-year-olds were enrolled in college, another historichigh for minorities in higher education. And ofthose young college-eligible Black adults whocompleted high school in 2010, 46 percent wereenrolled in college. (This is still significantlyhigher than pre-2009 enrollment rates ofaround 40 percent, but a fraction less than a his-toric high of 46.4 percent set in 2009.)

Indirect FactorsThe report makes the case that other, less

direct factors might have contributed to theHispanic college enrollment surge. These aremostly of an economic or work-related nature,although the conclusions that can be drawn aresomewhat open to interpretation, given the limit-ed data available.

In a sluggish economy, reduced labor marketopportunity might well play a role in spurring anincreased number of young adults to enroll incollege. Entering the work force directly out ofhigh school has always been an alternative tohigher education, and this is especially true forHispanics. But the lingering aftermath of the GreatRecession has had an ongoing negative impact onlabor opportunity for young adults, who continue

to show a high rate of unemployment. In March2011, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported thatthe unemployment rate among 18- to 24-year-oldswas still running at twice the national average.Using related Bureau of Labor Statistics data, Frydetermined that in the first quarter of 2011, theemployment rate for 20- to 24-year-olds hadgained a mere third of a percent from a year ear-lier and stood at just 60.3 percent. Fry’s reportposits that this protracted lack of employmentopportunity might well have led to a greater shareof young adults enrolling in college.

“They figure they might as well go to collegeand improve their skill set,” surmised Fry. He alsospeculated that the disproportionate nature of thesurge might be due to economic hardship hittingareas of the country that are more heavily populat-ed by Hispanics, leading to a heavier proportion ofyoung Hispanics opting to go to college because ofregionally paltry employment opportunities.

The report further argues that young adultsand their families are not buying into the notionthat because of rising tuition costs and increasedstudent loan debt, higher education is not cur-rently worth the investment. Evidence of this ishinted at in bachelor’s degree attainment trendsthat are similar to the recent uptick in enroll-ment; according to data from the National Centerfor Education Statistics (NCES), in 2010 theshare of all 25- to 29-year-olds that had obtained

at least a bachelor’s degree hit a historic high of32 percent. (However, NCES notes in its reportThe Condition of Education 2011 that most ofthe growth in bachelor’s attainment occurredprior to the last decade.)

That young adults are not shying away fromthe long-term cost of a college education mightlikely be due to the fact that on average, employ-ers continue to pay college-educated youngworkers about 50 percent more than their peerswho have only completed high school. This sig-nificant earnings gap emerged in the 1980s,according to the report, and has since stabilizedat around 50 percent.

“So, at least in terms of the typical pay of col-lege graduates versus high school graduates, acollege education has not lost its luster,” Frysummarized.

Of course, there is a fundamental differencebetween enrollment and completion. It remainsto be seen whether the surge in Hispanic collegeenrollment will be followed by a surge in two- orfour-year degree attainment. As Raúl González,legislative director of the National Council of LaRaza, said in reaction to the Pew report: “Aspike does not a trend make.”

Nevertheless, positive growth is a positivedevelopment – and it’s a far cry from 1972,when just 13 percent of young adult Hispanicswere attending college.


7.7

2.1

5.6

1.8

0.8 1.0

1.7

0.61.1

0.8

0.20.6

Total 2-year 4-year

White Hispanic Black Asian

18- to 24-Year-Old College Enrollment, by Type of College, 2010 (millions)

Notes: White includes only non-Hispanic Whites. Total includes persons of other racial and ethnicgroups not separately shown.

Source: Pew Hispanic Center analysis of the October 2010 Current Population Survey

PEW RESEARCH CENTER

Women Fall Behind inFinancial Literacyby Michelle Adam

Whenit comes to financial news and the media, the stockmarket and major economic trends typically takecenter stage. Seldom do we hear as much about

financial literacy and how the average American can make informed, finan-cial decisions.

A report published in May by Financial Finesse, a provider of financialeducation, notes that a low level of financial literacy is especially evidentamong women, who are significantly behind men in virtually all areas offinancial knowledge.

“Women face more financial obstacles than men do. They earn less onaverage than men, but have significantly longer retirements due to the factthat women live an average of five years longer than men. They also facehealth care costs throughout their lives,” said Liz Davidson, CEO andfounder of Financial Finesse. “To overcome these obstacles, they should besaving more than men and investing their savings more aggressively to get astrong long-term return that will sufficiently grow their portfolios. Insteadwe see the opposite happening, and this could put women in a dangerousposition of not being able to meet their financial needs later in life.”

According to Davidson, the solution to this concern is in providingmore resources for women in “schools, more community organizations,and at more companies. It will also require women themselves to changehow they think about money.”

While this year’s report revealed that women lag behind men in finan-cial literacy for the second year in a row, there’s hope. The gender gap hasbegun to narrow across all demographic groups, with women under 30showing the most improvement. In addition, schools, community organiza-tions, and companies like Financial Finesse are making stronger efforts toeducate our citizens on finances.

Are these entities doing enough to make a significant impact? And howmuch, and in what areas, do women specifically lag behind men in finan-cial literacy?

To answer these and other questions, The Hispanic Outlook in HigherEducation Magazine interviewed Scott Spann, CFP, EA, resident financialplanner and a think tank member of Financial Finesse.

The Hispanic Outlook: For how many years have you conductedthis financial literacy report?

Scott Spann: We compiled our first report on the gender gap in finan-cial literacy in 2009, as a result of a reporter’s request about how womenfared in comparison to men with regard to their personal finance knowl-edge and confidence. The topic was so popular that we decided to make ita special report as of this year. We released our second report on the gen-der gap in May of 2011.

HO: Describe the population of your survey and its diversity.Spann: The data that make up this report come from employees who

work for companies that offer our financial education as a free benefit totheir employees. Working for an unbiased financial education providerallows us to provide financial planning guidance with no hidden agenda orstrings attached. These companies range from Fortune 1000 companies tocredit unions and hospitals. We reach over 500,000 employees a yearthrough our different clients, and they’re very diverse. We feel that thecompanies that partner with us represent a good cross-section of the pop-ulation in general. Some are factory workers at manufacturing companiesand construction workers, others are clerical or office workers, and some

FINANCE


Liz Davidson, CEO and founder, Financial Finesse

are nurses. We really reach a diverse group of individuals, spanning allethnicities and income levels.

HO: What were the most important and unique data that came out ofthis recent report?

Spann: From our latest study in this area, released in May, we found thegender gap was most notable in investing and budgeting. Twenty-five percentof women reported feeling confident with how their investments were allo-cated compared to 42 percent of men, and only 63 percent of women said

they had a handle on their cash flow versus 80 percent of men. The smallestgap was in retirement preparedness, but both women and men are woefullyunprepared. Only 12 percent of women and 19 percent of men are confidentthey will be able to replace 80 percent of their income in retirement. Alsointeresting was that women and men are participating equally in theiremployers’ 401(k) or retirement savings plans, with 92 percent of womenand 91 percent of men saving, yet women may be investing too conservativelyto meet their income needs in retirement. Despite the tremendous progresswomen have made in the work force over the last several decades, there isstill a large gender gap with regard to women’s financial knowledge. Forexample, we found that 64 percent of women indicated that they have a gen-

eral knowledge of investments compared to 84 percent of the men respond-ing to an online financial planning questionnaire. This may seem like a hugegap, and it is. However, in 2009 only 40 percent of women indicated thatthey had general investment knowledge in comparison to 73 percent of men,so the gap does appear to be getting somewhat smaller. Education plays acritical role in bridging the knowledge gap because financial knowledgeaffects positive financial behaviors associated with financial wellness.

HO: How did this year’s data compare to last year’s?Spann: Well, a general trend we saw was that women were handling their

day-to-day finances better than in 2009. Across the board, with the exceptionof feeling uncomfortable with the amount of nonmortgage debt they had,women reported having a better handle on their cash flow, up 10 percentsince 2009; regularly paying their bills on time, up 13 percent from 2009;and having an emergency fund in place, up 14 percent from 2009. Men werealso reporting better money management – with a 9 percent increase in hav-ing a handle on cash flow, 4 percent increase in paying off debt regularly and8 percent increase in having an emergency fund in place. On top of it,employees – both men and women – are contributing more to their compa-ny-sponsored retirement plans such as a 401(k). Over 90 percent of men andwomen said they contributed in 2011, 85 percent for women and 86 percentof men in 2009. These are definitely encouraging signs that employees havecome out of the recession realizing they need to make some changes toimprove their finances, and they’re taking the right steps to doing that. They’realso focusing more on their futures and are saving more. Women stayed thesame in their confidence about whether they were on track to meet theirretirement income needs, with only 12 percent indicating they are on track toreplace at least 80 percent of their income in retirement. In contrast, men asa whole are feeling less confident (23 percent in 2009, 19 percent in 2011)about whether they’re on track to retire with 80 percent of their income.

HO: According to your recent report, younger women are the onesmaking the greatest improvements in financial literacy. Why do you feelthis is so? What is it that these younger women have in their favor todaycompared to earlier generations of women?

Spann: Great question, but interestingly enough, women of youngergenerations actually have less in terms of benefits to supplement theirfinancial goals than older generations because. They don’t get generouspensions from their employers and are losing government and employerbenefits such as Social Security and health care, which older generationstypically had. It’s still too early to tell if women under age 30, who madethe most improvements since 2009, will continue this trend of closing thegender gap in financial literacy. But, just as women came out of the GreatDepression with an attitude of frugality, women coming out of the GreatRecession may be coming out of it with a “roll up your sleeves” kind ofattitude toward managing their personal finances.

HO: It seems women have improved their levels at a greater pace thanthe men when it comes to: paying off credit cards, being uncomfortable withthe amount of debt owed, general knowledge of stocks and bonds, and pay-ing bills on time. Yet they feel less confident than men (and have notimproved in this area) in their belief that they can replace at least 80 percentof their income in retirement. Why do you feel there is this discrepancy?

Spann: That’s a very interesting question – why are women improvingat a faster rate than men in this department, yet seem to be less confident


Scott Spann, CFP, EA

they are doing well financially? I think both genders are taking the lessonsfrom the recession – they don’t want to be in the same situation they werein during it, so they’re making moves to improve their situations. Men tendto be overconfident about their finances whereas women tend to be under-confident. I think there is some of this at play here, but what we’ve seenfirsthand and believe is a reason women are making changes faster thanmen is that they are twice as likely to use financial education benefits thanmen are. This means more women are seeking help with their financesand are also more apt to make the changes stick over the long term.

HO: Why do you feel women struggle a lot more than men with debt andare calling your hotline about this? Does raising children factor into this?

Spann: Women, as I mentioned earlier, already have a tendency to askfor help more than men do, so this may be part of why we get more callsfrom women. But you bring up raising children on their own – I think I sawa study last year that the number of single women in their 20s having chil-dren out of wedlock made up 40 percent of all children born in the U.S.that year. If they’re raising children without financial help, this definitelyplays a role in women’s finances. And since they often earn less than mendo, there is that to consider as a hurdle, as well managing their finances.

HO: Currently, what kind of financial education exists for women (andmen) in school (high school, college or other), in the community, and inthe workplace?

Spann: I’m glad you asked that because this is really an issue that needslight to be brought to it. The fact is, though there are some small, organized

movements around the country for financial education in K-12 schools andeven colleges, there hasn’t been much progress made here. I think rightnow there are about 13 states mandating financial education be taught inhigh schools, which is a great step forward. But we always say financialeducation needs to start with the parents – you may have heard this before,but parents prefer to talk to their kids about sex before they talk to themabout their finances! This is crazy! Women often play the role as the maincaregiver in a home – they need to be equipped to educate their children aswell on finances so that we can ensure our future generations are makingsmart financial decisions. The good news there is that we’re seeing a fast-moving trend toward offering unbiased, financial education in the work-place. It’s a way for employers to help their employees make informed deci-sions about their benefits, so they can manage them in a way that helpsthem achieve their financial goals. Rather than just giving employees theinformation, employers are choosing now to equip employees with educa-tion they can use for a lifetime in dealing with their financial decisions.

HO:What still needs to be done to educate more people in financial literacy?Spann: There is so much that needs to be done. The financial media are

talking about this trend, which is called benefits planning – helping employ-ees manage the benefits they have left after losing things like pensions theyonce counted on for retirement income. This is helping parents who areemployees at these companies manage the changes from a tough economyas well. Companies are starting to move away from traditional benefits com-munication where employees are bombarded with technical information onbenefits, and toward holistic benefits planning, which starts with an employ-ees’ financial goals, then looks at how the employee can best manage theirbenefits to achieve these goals. The way employers and even schools areeducating people about finances, however, is not working for women andneeds to change in order to meet the needs of men and women alike, with-out alienating either. As a society, we need to get away from financial trans-actions and move toward financial planning – helping people establish theirkey financial goals and work toward those goals by saving sufficiently,investing wisely, and protecting their assets along the way. We need to makefinances about people and their families, not just about the market. Whenwe do this, we will engage women at a much deeper, more meaningful level;that’s where you’ll see the biggest changes. It’s already happening. You areseeing financial institutions increasingly shift from a transactional mentalityto a more broad-based, financial-planning mentality. There has also been agrowth in the number of fee-based financial planners who approachfinances holistically. These are all huge steps forward.

HO: What do you see happening for college students across the countryregarding financial literacy, and how are Hispanics a part of this?

Spann: Thankfully, financial literacy is finally getting some attention.College students will probably see it popping up as an option for course cred-its more and more, and we, of course, encourage everyone to take advantageof any free education they can get in this area. In fact, many colleges are nowoffering peer-to-peer financial counseling. We are not sure how Hispanic col-lege students, or Hispanic women, are faring in financial literacy because ourresearch has not studied this particular group enough yet. But we do knowthat if women are more apt to seek and use financial education, they may havea good shot at closing the gender gap – especially since young women underage 30 are showing the fastest rates of improvement.


HMS CO.P.O. BOX 231840Centreville, VA 20120-1840

visit our websites:visit our websites:www.hmsdc.com

and www.DiversityStore.comCall toll free at 1-800-200-KYNG (5964)

E-mail: [email protected] Fax 1-703-266-9055

FOR ALL YOUR MULTICULTURAL ITEMS• POSTERS • VIDEOS • FLAGS


Ideally a story/book should, besidesentertain, either educate, make thereader think about the topic, and/or

make the reader want to read more.The Havana Habit does all four.

The Havana Habit is certainlyentertaining, in spite of the fact that it isso obviously written by a college profes-sor who’s careful to use the right termi-nology, cite every possible referenceand thank every source. The illustra-tions used to explain a point are somuch a part of the American experiencethat we can’t help but smile whileremembering I Love Lucy episodes or the Joker in Batman. From a col-lege professor, one expects to be educated, but what a fun education. Ifyou want to know where the Chachachá, Mambo, Conga, Rumba orDaiquiris come from, they all come from Cuba. Firmat has carefullyresearched and very eloquently explained to us the origin of each and thehow and why they became so popular in the United States.

This book, however, goes beyond educating about popular music,dance and drinks. It also gives the reader a lot to think about the relation-ship between the United States and Cuba. Not the relationship between thegovernments of each country (although there is some historical explana-tion of that topic) but rather the relationship between the perception ofthe United States about Cuban culture and of Cuba fostering that fictionalidea on the United States psyche.

Lastly, the book makes one want to revisit some of the books andmovies Firmat uses as examples of the fictitious Cuba/Havana lifestylefound in To Have and Have Not, Too Many Girls and Week-End inHavana and which becomes America’s idea of all Latino/Hispanic coun-tries – so that movies taking place in Mexico, Argentina or Brazil have aRumba or Conga, and all the drug dealers have awful Cuban accents.

If you ever wondered or were annoyed by the fact that in the UnitedStates Latinos are often all looked at as if we’re all the same, Firmatargues that it all goes back to Americans’ fascination with all things Cuban(real or imagined). So that a habit was created of seeing all Latinosthrough the Cuban lens. In his epilogue, he explains how this is, after all,how Cubans see themselves. “For Cubans, it’s all, and always, about us.”Firmat admits that “this book may be another example of the Cubaninclination to find Cuba in the most unlikely places,” including themovie The Blob. Either way, the book is entertaining, withplenty of food for thought.

Reviewed by Myrka A. González

The Havana Habitby Gustavo Pérez Firmat; 2010ISBN: 978-0-300-14132-0. $25.00 cloth. 225 pages. Yale UniversityPress, www.yale.edu/yup/. (203) 432-0960.

IInntteerreessttiinngg RReeaaddss

Cultural Centers in Higher EducationBy Lori D. Patton

Black cultural centers have a 40-year history, but untilnow no one has painted a completely accurate picture abouthow they developed. Until now, little has been known abouttheir historical roots, current status and future prospects.

2010. 230 pgs. ISBN: 978-1579222321. $27.50 paper.Stylus Publishing, (703) 661-1504. www.Styluspub.com

The Immigrant Paradox in Children and Adolescents Edited by Cynthia Garcia Coll and Amy Kerivan Marks

This volume examines these controversial findings byasking how and why highly acculturated youth might fareworse academically and developmentally than their lessassimilated peers, and under what circumstances this pat-tern is disrupted.

2011. 320 pgs. ISBN: 978-1433810534. $69.95 cloth. AmericanPsychological Society, (800) 374-2721. www.apa.org

Learning a New LandBy Carola Suárez-Orozco, Marcelo M. Suárez-Orozco and Irina

Todorova

Based on an interdisciplinary study that followed 400newly arrived children from the Caribbean, China, CentralAmerica and Mexico for five years, this book provides anaccount of the lives, dreams and frustrations of theseyoungest immigrants.

2010. 440 pgs. ISBN: 978-0674045804 1. $19.95 paper. HarvardUniversity Press, (617) 384-7249. www.harvardeducationpress.org.

Mexican National Identity By William H. Beezley

Mexican National Identity makes an important contri-bution to the growing body of literature that explores theinfluences of popular culture on issues of national identity.It opens new avenues for exploring identity not just inMexico and Latin American countries but in every nation.

2008. 224 pgs. ISBN: 978-0-8165-2690-1. $24.95paper. The University of Arizona Press, (520) 621-3920.www.uapress.arizona.edu.

New Report on Academic Majors and Earned:How Do Women and Minorities Fare?by Angela Provitera McGlynn

Withnews articles questioning the economic value of a bache-lor’s degree in terms of the financial investment made, theIntroduction to What’s It Worth? The Economic Value of

College Majors (Georgetown University, Center on Education and theWorkforce, May 2011) puts those queries to a rest. The short answer is: Yes!

Report authors Anthony P. Carnevale, Jeff Strohl and Michelle Melonnote that on average, full-time, full-year workers with bachelor’s degreesearn 74 percent more money over a lifetime than their peers with only ahigh school diploma. With a graduate degree, the gap widens even further.The more nuanced answer to the economic value question, though, is thatsome undergraduate majors pay off a lot more than others – in somecases, the difference in earning potential between one major and anothercan be upwards of 300 percent. Graduate degrees could make a differenceof 400 percent to 500 percent.

What’s It Worth? uses United States Census data available for the firsttime and demonstrates how important choice of major is to students’median earnings. In Carnevale’s words, “The bottom line is that getting adegree matters, but what you take matters more.”

The report’s analyses are based on newly released data from the 2009American Community Survey (ACS). For the first time in the ACS, theCensus Bureau asked B.A. holders or higher to indicate their undergradu-ate major. The responses were then coded into 171 degree majors. Thesecond section of the report aggregates all 171 majors into 15 groups. The15 groupings of majors are:

1. Agriculture and Natural Resources2. Arts3. Biology and Life Science4. Business5. Communications and Journalism6. Computers and Mathematics7. Education8. Engineering9. Health10. Humanities and Liberal Arts11. Industrial Arts and Consumer Services12. Law and Public Policy13. Physical Sciences14. Psychology and Social Work15. Social Science

The unique aspect of this research is that it analyzed data across anindividual’s full life cycle (ages 25 to 64) rather than focusing on recentdegree recipients.

The data show that majors are highly segregated by race/ethnicity andgender, with few exceptions. In terms of gender, essentially the findingsshowed that White men are concentrated in the highest-earning majors,such as Engineering and Pharmaceutical Sciences. Women are concentrat-ed in the lowest-earning majors, including Art, Education and Social Work.

Further, even women with the higher-paying degrees, as, for example,women in Chemical Engineering, earn on average $20,000 less than simi-larly educated males.

The highest proportion of women is found in Early ChildhoodEducation (97 percent). This is followed by Medical Assisting Servicemajors (96 percent) and Communication Disorders Sciences and Servicesmajors (94 percent). Majors in which women are most heavily concentrat-ed are almost exclusively the Education and Health fields.

The highest proportion of men are found in Naval Architecture andMarine Engineering (97 percent), followed closely by MechanicalEngineering and Related Technologies (94 percent).

The report makes clear that inequities based on race/ethnicity and gen-der still persist. Within the very same major, African-Americans earn$22,000 less than Whites and $12,000 less than Asian-Americans.

The report also analyzed occupations in terms of ethnic/racial concen-trations. The fields with the highest concentration of Whites are Forestry(93 percent), Natural Resources Management (92 percent), andAgriculture Production and Management (92 percent). Asian-Americansare concentrated in Computer majors (33 percent), Statistics and DecisionScience (30 percent), and Neuroscience (27 percent).

The highest proportion of African-American B.A. degree holders is foundin School Student Counseling (38 percent), Human Services and CommunityOrganization (21 percent) and Counseling Psychology (20 percent).

African-Americans earn the most money in the field of ElectricalEngineering, with a median income of $68,000. Whites in the same field earna median income of $90,000, with Asians at $80,000. At the bottom rung areHispanics with the same major whose median income is just $60,000.

Earnings discrepancies between Whites and minorities in the same fieldwith the same majors appear pretty much across the board. African-Americans with bachelor’s degrees earn the least with a major in GeneralMedical and Health Services. The median income for African-Americans inthis field is $32,000; for Whites, $50,000.

The highest concentrations of Hispanic bachelor’s degree holders arefound in Biological Engineering (22 percent), International Business (21percent) and Social Psychology (19 percent).

Hispanics earn the most with a major in Mechanical Engineering. Theirmedian income in this field is $70,000. Whites with the same major work-ing in the same field earn $83,000. Hispanic B.A. degree holders earn theleast with majors in Theology and Religious Vocations – median income isjust $30,000. Again, this is less than earnings for Whites and for African-Americans in the field. For majors yielding the highest and lowest medianearnings for Hispanics, see the tables in this article.

The top 10 majors in terms of highest median earnings are:1. Petroleum Engineer, $120,0002. Pharmacy/Pharmaceutical Sciences and Administration, $105,0003. Mathematics and Computer Sciences, $98,0004. Aerospace Engineering, $87,0005. Chemical Engineering, $86,000

FINANCE/REPORTS


$$

6. Electrical Engineering, $85,0007. Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, $82,0008. Mechanical Engineering, $80,0009. Metallurgical Engineering, $80,00010. Mining and Mineral Engineering, $80,000The 10 majors with the lowest median earnings are:1. Counseling/Psychology, $29,0002. Early Childhood Education, $36,0003. Theology and Religious Vocations, $38,0004. Human Services and Community Organizations, $38,0005. Social Work, $39,0006. Drama and Theater Arts, $40,0007. Studio Arts, $40,0008. Communication Disorders Sciences & Services, $40,0009. Visual and Performing Arts, $40,00010. Health and Medical Preparatory Programs, $40,000

Right in the middle of the pack in terms of earnings and employmentare the Liberal Arts and Humanities majors. These majors make up thethird most popular major group. Liberal Arts and Humanities majors earnmedian incomes of $47,000. Students with these degrees usually end up inprofessional, white-collar, and education occupations. Further, about 40percent of these earn graduate degrees, and that enhances their earningsby almost 50 percent.

The most popular major was found in some areas of Business. Morepeople who earned bachelor’s degrees majored in Business Managementthan any other major. There are earnings differences even within groups ofsimilar majors. For example, Business-Economics majors had the highestmedian pay ($75,000) of all Business majors. The least popular majorsare Military Technologies, Soil Science, and Pharmacology, collectivelymaking up less than 1 percent.

The report also looked at the likelihood that a person with a specificmajor would obtain a graduate degree and the subsequent earnings returnof graduate degrees. Majors with the highest rates of graduate degree


African- Other Races White American Hispanic Asian & Ethnicities Median Median Median Median Median Earnings Earnings Earnings Earnings Earnings

Mechanical Engineering 83,000 65,000 70,000 70,000 ••

••••••

•

Civil Engineering 80,000 • 65,000 72,000

Management InformationSystems and Statistics

70,000 56,000 65,000 64,000

Computer Science 80,000 61,000 62,000 75,000

Electrical Engineering 90,000 68,000 60,000 80,000

Computer and Information Systems

65,000 51,000 60,000 60,000

Chemical Engineering 95,000 • 59,000 70,000

Architecture 65,000 55,000 59,000 65,000

Nursing 60,000 60,000 58,000 70,000 60,000

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering 80,000 • 56,000 80,000

TOP 10 MAJORS WITH THE HIGHEST MEDIAN EARNINGS FOR HISPANICS**

* Full-Time, full-year workers with a terminal Bachelor’s.- There was a tie for last place, and we are representing some, but not all, of those majors that tied.• Sample size was too small to be statistically valid.


Theology and Religious Vocations 38,000 42,000 30,000

Advertising and Public Relations

50,000 42,000 38,000

General Education 43,000 42,000 38,000 37,000

Social Work 40,000 38,000 38,000

Mathematics 70,000 50,000 40,000 70,000

Physical and Health Education Teaching 47,000 43,000 40,000

Biology 52,000 43,000 40,000 51,000

Psychology 45,000 40,000 40,000 50,000

Elementary Education 40,000 40,000 40,000 34,000

Fine Arts 46,000 38,000 40,000 44,000

TOP 10 MAJORS WITH THE LOWEST MEDIAN EARNINGS FOR HISPANICS*

* Full-Time, full-year workers with a terminal Bachelor’s.• Sample size was too small to be statistically valid.

•••••••••••

••

•

•


Mechanical Engineering 83,000 65,000 70,000 70,000 ••

••••••

•

Civil Engineering 80,000 • 65,000 72,000

Management InformationSystems and Statistics

70,000 56,000 65,000 64,000

Computer Science 80,000 61,000 62,000 75,000

Electrical Engineering 90,000 68,000 60,000 80,000

Computer and Information Systems

65,000 51,000 60,000 60,000

Chemical Engineering 95,000 • 59,000 70,000

Architecture 65,000 55,000 59,000 65,000

Nursing 60,000 60,000 58,000 70,000 60,000

Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering 80,000 • 56,000 80,000

TOP 10 MAJORS WITH THE HIGHEST MEDIAN EARNINGS FOR HISPANICS**

* Full-Time, full-year workers with a terminal Bachelor’s.- There was a tie for last place, and we are representing some, but not all, of those majors that tied.• Sample size was too small to be statistically valid.


Theology and Religious Vocations 38,000 42,000 30,000

Advertising and Public Relations

50,000 42,000 38,000

General Education 43,000 42,000 38,000 37,000

Social Work 40,000 38,000 38,000

Mathematics 70,000 50,000 40,000 70,000

Physical and Health Education Teaching 47,000 43,000 40,000

Biology 52,000 43,000 40,000 51,000

Psychology 45,000 40,000 40,000 50,000

Elementary Education 40,000 40,000 40,000 34,000

Fine Arts 46,000 38,000 40,000 44,000

TOP 10 MAJORS WITH THE LOWEST MEDIAN EARNINGS FOR HISPANICS*

* Full-Time, full-year workers with a terminal Bachelor’s.• Sample size was too small to be statistically valid.

•••••••••••

••

•

•

attainment included: School Student Counseling (91 percent), EducationalAdministration and Supervision (89 percent), and Health and MedicalPreparatory Programs (70 percent).

Lowest rates of graduate degree attainment were found in CommercialArt and Graphic Design (9 percent), Communication Technologies (11percent), and Construction Services (11 percent).

We know that earning a graduate degree leads to higher earnings. Whatthis report shows is that how much additional earnings people make with agraduate degree depends on their undergraduate majors. Those majors thatget the biggest increase from a graduate degree are Health and MedicalPreparatory Programs at a whopping 190 percent increase, miscellaneousSocial Science majors (134 percent), and Zoology (123 percent).

In addition, What’s It Worth looked at how employment rates correlat-

ed with specific majors. It found that unemployment was lowest in the fol-lowing fields: Geological and Geophysical Engineering, MilitaryTechnologies, Pharmacology, and School Student Counseling. Certainmajors are also associated with full-time rather than part-time work. Theyinclude Genetics at 99 percent full-time employment, and Geological andGeophysical Engineering at 97 percent full-time employment.

Fields with the highest unemployment rates, ranging from 16 percent to11 percent, included: Social Psychology, Nuclear Engineering, andEducational Administration and Supervision.

As I read this report, two troublesome thoughts occurred to me. Will dis-seminating this type of information make students and their families choosemajors based solely on income earning potential rather than on a love oflearning, intellectual curiosity, and what might be labeled vocational callings?

And is a college education only worth it in termsof dollars and cents?

These fears were somewhat assuaged by lis-tening to the lead author, Anthony Carnevale, onNational Public Radio’s news program Tell MeMore (June 6, 2011). Interviewer Michel Martinasked Carnevale whether he had any fears abouthow the information might be used. Carnevalesaid he hopes “that this report will be used inways that make it that other chapter in the col-lege catalogue. After you’ve decided what it isyou really want to learn, look to see what kind ofcareer pathway it will send you down, and if thatdoesn’t raise issues for you – full speed ahead.”

“My fear is that it will, in the end, crowd outShakespeare. I think that in a panic to makecareers for themselves, people will not pay atten-tion to the kinds of personal development thatcomes from taking ... Humanities, Arts, and othercourses that are taken more for passion than theyare for building pensions.”

Carnevale’s advice to students was astute:“Whatever you do when you go to college,

don’t just focus on getting the degree. Pay someattention to where the degree will take you, whatoccupation it will lead you to, what kind of acareer. And if, in the end, you major in theHumanities or the Liberal Arts or other areaswhere there’s no obvious occupation that you’reheaded for, plan to go on to graduate school orsome additional schooling to put an occupation-al point on your educational pencil, somethingyou can sell in the labor market.”

This seems like sound advice. As an educa-tor, I would add one more suggestion: Pursue incollege what you love. Passion for a disciplinecan go a long way in motivating students to turnwhat they love into “work.” I am reminded of aquotation attributed to many authors, includingConfucius: “Do what you love and you will neverwork a day in your life.”

Angela Provitera McGlynn, professor emeri-tus of psychology, is an author and nationalconsultant/presenter on teaching and learning.


PROVOSTPosition FA030

John H. Daniel CampusLocated in Keysville, VA

Southside Virginia Community College invites applications for the position of Provost of the JohnH. Daniel Campus, Keysville, Virginia. The College is recognized throughout the Commonwealthfor the leadership it has provided in the development of innovative programs. Additionally theCollege has received national recognition from The Chronicle of Higher Education whichdesignated Southside Virginia Community College as a “Great Place to Work.”

Established in 1971, the John H. Daniel Campus of Southside Virginia Community College islocated in a setting featuring rolling hills and majestic pines. Situated in Charlotte County,Virginia, on a 98 acre campus, the location boasts a 57,500 square foot academic complex and aWorkforce Development Center of about 14,000 square feet. A new, state-of-the-art LearningResource/Student Center will be completed in 2013. The Campus, enhanced by various off-campus centers, has extensive offerings in programs of study and serves the western end of theCollege’s ten county service area. We serve primarily the residents of the city of Emporia and thecounties of Brunswick, Buckingham, Charlotte, Cumberland, Greensville, Halifax, Lunenburg,Mecklenburg, Nottoway, and Prince Edward. This represents an area of approximately 4,200square miles. The College takes pride in its community-based education approach to meeting theneeds of service area constituents.

The Provost must meet the challenges of building upon past successes while charting new directions.Important areas of focus must include a comprehensive review of program offerings, curriculum, andpolicies and practices; a renewed emphasis on enrollment and retention; raising significant financialresources to supplement state and local budgets and fostering economic development.

Qualified candidate will have an earned Doctorate, demonstrated successful higher education andacademic administrative experience at or above the Dean or Department Chair level or theequivalent. He or she must possess a clear commitment to the comprehensive mission of anegalitarian community college, educational excellence, technological innovation development andworkforce training. The demonstrated ability to work with business, industry, government and thecommunity at large. The candidate must have a broad vision for the college together with the skillsand energy for its implementation. An appreciation for rural life is also an essential characteristicfor the next provost of the Daniel Campus, Southside Virginia Community College.

Salary commensurate with education and experience and includes an excellent benefits packet withboth state and VCCS benefits. To apply, submit a completed State Application, resume, andelectronic transcripts through the RMS website at: https://jobs.agencies.virginia.gov. Applicantsmust create an RMS user account to apply. Criminal Background and reference check required.The selected candidate must complete a Statement of Personal Economic Interests as a conditionof employment. Review of candidate materials will commence on February 1, 2012. Position willremain open until filled.

SVCC does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, or age in itsprograms and activities. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding thenon-discrimination policies: Peter Hunt, Vice President of Finance and Administration, 109Campus Drive, Alberta, VA 23821, 434-949-1005. Women, minorities, and those with disabilitiesare encouraged to apply. In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities act (ADA andADAAA), SVCC will provide, if requested, reasonableaccommodation to applicants in need of access to the application,interviewing and selection processes.

SVCC is committed to Diversity, Equal Employment Opportunityand Affirmative Action.


Romo Directing UCSB ChicanoStudies Institute

Laura Romo, associate professor of edu-cation at the University of California-SantaBarbara (UCSB), isthe new director ofthe campus’ ChicanoStudies Institute. Aleading researcher inthe areas of adoles-cent development,paren t - ado le scen tcommunication, andinformal health educa-tion, Romo replaced Carl Gutiérrez-Jones,professor of English at UCSB, who held theposition for the past six years. Romo receivedher Ph.D. in psychology from UCLA, andjoined the UCSB faculty in 2003.

UNM VP Torres Honored with OhtliAward

Dr. Eliseo “Cheo” Torres, University of NewMexico vice president for student affairs, wasrecognized with the2011 Ohtli award at acelebration of Mexico’sIndependence in Sept-ember in Santa Fe, N.M.The award is given year-ly by the government ofMexico to individualswho promote the well-being of Mexicans liv-ing in the U.S. According to Mauricio Ibarra, con-sul of Mexico, Torres was chosen because of hisrole as former adviser to the Institute of MexicansAbroad (IME) and as a recognized promoter ofthe Mexican community in Albuquerque.

Izquierdo and Quiroga JoinBroward College Management Team

Broward College (Fla.) recently addedtwo individuals to its management team.

Aileen Izquierdo (pictured l.) joined the col-lege as the first vice president for publicaffairs and marketing. She previously servedas vice president for communications andmarketing at Florida Atlantic University andalso worked in the media relations depart-ment at Florida International University. Dr.Mercedes Quiroga (r.) was named campuspresident for the A. Hugh Adams CentralCampus. Quiroga came to Broward fromMiami Dade College (MDC), where sheserved for more than 20 years in a variety ofpositions including, most recently, presidentof MDC’s Wolfson Campus.

Sánchez Honored with Children’sBook Award at Texas State

Alex Sánchez’s young adult novel Bait,which depicts the emotional journey of atroubled 16-year-oldboy, was named theTomás Rivera MexicanAmerican Children’sBook Award recipientfor works published in2009-10. Sánchez,who has a master’sdegree in guidanceand counseling fromOld Dominion University, was honored inOctober during a series of events on the TexasState University campus and at the Texas BookFestival in Austin.

Pérez Researches SustainableTourism in Cuba

Ricardo Pérez, professor of anthropologyat Eastern Connecticut State University,recently was invitedto lecture in Cubaat the University ofHavana’s Departmentof Tourism Studies.Pérez has an interestin the intersection oftourism and ecologyin Cuba and has beenconducting fieldresearch on the topic since visiting theisland’s northern coast in 2005. He is nowpreparing to write a book based on hisresearch over the past six years.

Cardinalli-Padilla Performs atEastern Connecticut StateUniversity

Anna María Cardinalli-Padilla, classical fla-menco guitarist and accomplished scholar,recently shared herpassion for the richnessof Latino culture atEastern ConnecticutState University.Cardinalli-Padilla is aprofessor of intelli-gence and nationalsecurity studies atAmerican MilitaryUniversity. She completed her bachelor’sdegree summa cum laude at St. Mary’s Collegeof California at age 18, her master’s degree atSt. John’s College at 20, and she became theyoungest person to receive a Ph.D. from theUniversity of Notre Dame, at the age of 25.

HHIISSPPAANNIICCSS OONN TTHHEE MMOOVVEEHHIISSPPAANNIICCSS OONN TTHHEE MMOOVVEE

Photo © Bill Hitz

FULL TIME, TENURE TRACK AMERICAN SIGN

LANGUAGE INSTRUCTORClose: 2/16/12

COUNSELORClose: 2/16/12

MATHEMATICS INSTRUCTORClose: 2/23/12

PSYCHOLOGY INSTRUCTORClose: 3/12/12

COMING SOON:

SOCIOLOGY INSTRUCTOR

For complete job announcementsand District applications, please call(831) 645-1341 or visit:

h t tp : / /apptrkr.com/227461EOE

TENURE TRACK FULL TIME,AN SIGN MERICA

RSTNIANGUAGE L

TENURE TRACK AN SIGN

ORTUCRRSTNIANGUAGE Llose: 2/16/12C

ELORSOUNClose: 2/16/12C

STNISICTHEMAHEMATTAATMlose: 2/23/12C

STNIYCHOLOGY SPlose: 3/12/12C

ORTUCRlose: 2/16/12

ELORlose: 2/16/12

ORTUCRSTlose: 2/23/12

ORTUCRSTlose: 3/12/12

announcements

OMING SOON:C

RSTNISOCIOLOGY

job complete For and District applications,(831) 645-1341 or visit:

.com/227461ht tp : / /apptrkrEOE

announcements

OMING SOON:

ORTUCR

please calland District applications,

.com/227461

HHIIGGHH SSCCHHOOOOLL FFOORRUUMM

Hispanic High School and CollegeSuccess: It’s Not a Man’s World

by Mary Ann Cooper

It’sthe elephant in the room – the dis-parity in achievement betweenLatinos and Latinas in high school

and postsecondary education. It shows up inevery study and survey of graduation rates anddropout statistics. The College Board released astudy in 2011 that separates minority males fromminority females in an effort to get at the genderdiscrepancy and make recommendations abouthow to address the needs and concerns ofminority males.

In a report from the College Board titled TheEducational Experience of Young Men ofColor: A Review of Research, Pathways andProgress, by John Michael Lee Jr. and TafayaRansom, the authors conclude that in order toanalyze the depth and severity of the shrinkingminority male presence in education, data needto be disaggregated not only by race and ethnici-ty, but by gender as well. So while minority stu-dents made up a disproportionate share of the“below basic” scorers on the 2009 NationalAssessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), thenumbers would be even worse if minority femalescores were taken out of the mix. For instance,minority males fare far worse than their femalecounterparts in reading. In math, Hispanicmales edge out Hispanic females, but not by awide margin. It does also make a big differenceto aggregate males by country of birth and eth-nicity. The report explains, “Latino males haveconsistently been more likely to drop out of highschool than males of other ethnic groups(Robert A. Soza, Pathways to Prevention: TheLatino Male Dropout Crisis. Tempe. 2007;Richard Fry, The Changing Pathways of LatinoYouths into Adulthood. Washington, D.C.: PewHispanic Center, 2009). However, disaggregatingLatino dropout rates by country of birth and/orethnicity reveals the nuance embedded in theoverall figures. For example, Fry reported a2007 high school dropout rate for U.S.-born,16- to 25-year-old Hispanic males of 12 percent,while foreign-born Hispanic males had a 37 per-cent dropout rate. Similarly, in 2007, the statusdropout rate of ethnic Salvadoran males (26percent) was more than four times the dropout

rate of Cuban males (6 percent).”Young African-American, Latino and Native

American males in high school share many pooracademic traits. They include low academicachievement, high grade-level repetition, highdropout rates, and overpopulation in specialeducation programs. One of the common causesof these problems, according to the CollegeBoard study, is what they cite as “both a lack ofsupport from family and a lack of communitysupport and resources.” The singling out ofmale students of color reveals a previously hid-den education crisis for this demographicgroup. As of 2008, a survey in the College Boardstudy of high school students ages 15 to 24showed a large gap between all males, in partic-ular minority males, and their higher-achievingfemale counterparts in college access, educa-tional attainment, and employment.

In their study The Vanishing Latino Male inHigher Education, published in the Journal ofHispanic Higher Education (2009), authorsSáenz and Ponjuan explain that gender differencesthat create the gap between Hispanic males andHispanic females in higher education, both innumbers and achievement, begin as early aspreschool, as cultural and gender norms inHispanic communities steer Hispanic malestoward alternate social and career paths. They saythe gap between Hispanic males and Hispanicfemales in higher education is most evident at ages18 and 19, the time when high school students aremaking the changeover to higher education.

Drilling down the data, there is evidence thatcertain groups of Hispanics exhibited more ofgender gap than others. Data from the FreshmanSurvey of the Cooperative Institutional ResearchProgram (CIRP) has shown that Mexican-Americans have the most pronounced enroll-ment gender gap at four-year institutions.

What social factors are contributing to thatgap? While much has been written and said aboutgender pressure in Hispanic households thatdownplay the importance of higher education forLatinas, less has been said about the familial pres-sure Latinos are under to financially support thefamily and hasten their entry into the work force.

An article, “Psychological Coping and Well-Being of Male Latino Undergraduates:‘Sobreviviendo la Universidad,’” published in theHispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences(2009), cites a higher education atmosphere thatLatino males perceive as one that can foster feel-ings of being a cultural misfit and undermine astrong sense of self. The article also cites a lack ofmentors as part of the enrollment and achieve-ment problem among Hispanics. There is a per-sistent lack of a sense of “belonging” for Hispanicmales entering some higher education societies.

In the 2008 study Factors Influencing theEthnic Identity Development of LatinoFraternity Members at a Hispanic-ServingInstitution, published in The Journal of CollegeStudent Development, authors Guardia andEvans explored how fraternal associations atHispanic-Serving Institutions affected Latinoenrollment and retention in higher education.They found that these organizations enhancedthe higher education experience for Latinosbecause they promoted ethnic identity and asense of belonging to the community.

At a Latino male symposium at the Universityof Texas-Austin, Dr. Víctor Sáenz, who createdand heads Project MALES, sponsor of the event,addressed the disappointing numbers ofHispanic males completing higher educationdegrees, and the lack of mentoring for thisdemographic in a state in which 38 percent ofthe population is Hispanic. As Sáenz notes, “Instates like Texas, demographics is destiny.” Butthat destiny is tied to a community and familysupport system. In speaking about ProjectMALES, a joint effort between the University ofTexas-Austin and South Texas College, Sáenzannounced that a new pilot mentoring projectwas recently launched to train Latino male col-lege students to be mentors to middle schooland high school Latino youth in the Austin area.

Dr. Luis Ponjuan, an assistant professor ineducation at the University of Florida, andSáenz’s co-author of the 2009 The VanishingLatino Male in Higher Education study, furtherdemonstrated the urgent need to encouragemore Latinos to complete high school and enter


higher education. “I have some very soberingstatistics. Right now around one out of everyfour kindergartners is Latino. About 20 percentof Latino boys drop out of high school – that’sone in five of our boys becoming a dropout.Only 73 percent of Latino boys are getting highschool degrees. We’re looking at major failingsin the education pipeline, especially at transitionpoints such as between high school and commu-

nity college or a four-year university or betweenmiddle school and high school. The problem isexacerbated in grades K-12 – because Latinochildren often attend schools that are under-funded, have underprepared teachers, sufferhigh teacher turnover and have inexperiencedadministrators as leaders in the schools.”

Ignoring “the elephant in the room” will havedisastrous impact on an already fragile economy

in the future, says Ponjuan. It is not merely asocial crisis we face, but a monetary one as well.We are in danger of creating a permanent, largeunderclass of Latino males. Many of them will beborn into poverty and stay there for life.According to Ponjuan, “For all too many Latinomen, life options are limited to extreme poverty,prison, social welfare programs and death.”


Theory into PracticeTheory into Practice

Improving the performance of men of color in high school and higher education takes a multiprong approach. It must be addressed from a societal,familial, and institutional perspective. Here are some recommendations from the College Board as detailed in its report, The Educational Experience ofYoung Men of Color: A Review of Research, Pathways and Progress.

Recommendation 1:When dealing with a national issue involving millions of moving parts (i.e., students), those in charge of coming up workable solutions sometimes

develop one-size-fits-all generic solutions. This will not work with the myriad issues that face men of color as they navigate their way through high schooland college. Issues that hamper Hispanic academic success are not necessarily the same issues stifling African-American success. And although the goal isto raise success levels among men of color to be competitive with success levels among women off color, there should be recognition that women of colorshouldn’t have resources taken from them or be ignored as new programs are introduced for men of color. The White House points to its White HouseInitiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics as one of the ways it is attempting to deal with this issue.

Recommendation 2:The study advises policy makers to remind communities, businesses and schools that they are all in this together. It is in everyone’s best interest that

men of color succeed academically since people of color are a burgeoning part of the population, now and in years to come. The study encourages part-nerships among these three societal entities that would provide “incentives/rewards for children of employees who do well in school, releasing parents toattend teacher conferences, and providing mentors for students in both K-12 and higher education.” Community leaders should also create mentoring pro-grams for students who need support and encouragement.

Recommendation 3:The study also encourages education reform that would put in place programs to make young men of color college and career ready upon completion

of high school. Raising high school graduation rates without making sure they can handle college work or be ready to compete in the workplace is kickingthe can down the road, and postponing inevitable disappointment. Schools are encouraged to enlist the help of parents as well as the government and com-munity to enact reform measures.

Recommendation 4:Since men of color have been singled out for improvement, teacher education programs must recognize and acknowledge that curricula must include

cultural and gender responsive training for school personnel. According to the study, “This training should include culturally responsive instruction, diver-sity training, and training in college and career readiness for all teachers and counselors. Student-centered approaches should improve outcomes foryoung men of color; these approaches should include academic and personal mentoring, personal counseling, positive role models and culturally basedprograms.” Schools should also seek to increase their number of male teachers so that male students, in particular men of color, can have mentors whocan guide them through high school, but also help them transition into college or a career choice.

Recommendation 5:Colleges should not become complacent about their role in recruiting, retaining, and graduating men of color. High schools can do their share in

preparing students for college, but once they are there, colleges have a vital role in keeping them there and helping them to succeed. According to thestudy, “Higher education institutions must have an institutional commitment to diversity, and they must be intentional in their commitment by devoting time,attention and the required resources. Also, there must be constant engagement and active participation by everyone – faculty, student affairs professionals,staff, administrators and students.”

Recommendation 6:The study concludes that the issues that face men of color are ever changing and evolving. What might have been an issue last year can morph into an

entirely different challenge today. The study recommends that more research and studies need to be conducted to stay current. And rather than just conductstudies that identify “the elephant in the room,” ongoing research should function on creating and testing solutions.

Pew Hispanic Center ReleasesReport on Unauthorized Immigrants

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Nearly two-thirds of the 10.2 million unau-thorized adult immigrants in the United Stateshave lived in this country for at least 10 years,and nearly half are parents of minor children,according to new estimates by the Pew HispanicCenter, a project of the Pew Research Center.These estimates are based on data from

the U.S. Census Bureau’s March 2010Current Population Survey, augmented withthe center’s analysis of the demographiccharacteristics of the unauthorized immi-grant population using a “residual estima-tion methodology” that the center hasemployed for many years.The characteristics of this population

have become a source of renewed interestin the wake of former House Speaker Newt

Gingrich’s recent endorsement of a propos-al to create a path for unauthorized immi-grants to gain legal status if they have livedin the country for a long period of time;have children in the U.S.; pay taxes andbelong to a church. Several of Gingrich’sopponents for the Republican presidentialnomination have criticized the proposal as aform of amnesty that would encourage moreimmigrants to come to the U.S. illegally.The Pew Hispanic analysis finds that 35

percent of unauthorized adult immigrantshave resided in the U.S. for 15 years ormore; 28 percent, for 10 to 14 years; 22percent, for five to nine years; and 15 per-cent, for less than five years. The center’sanalysis also finds that the share that hasbeen in the country at least 15 years hasmore than doubled since 2000, when aboutone in six (16 percent) unauthorized adultimmigrants had lived here for that duration.By the same token, the share of unautho-

rized adult immigrants who have lived in thecountry for less than five years has fallen byhalf during this period – from 32 percent in2000 to 15 percent in 2010.The rising share of unauthorized immi-

grants who have been in the U.S. for a longduration reflects the fact that the sharpestgrowth in this population occurred duringthe late 1990s and early 2000s – and thatthe inflow has slowed down significantly inrecent years, as the U.S. economy has sput-tered and border enforcement has tight-ened. It also reflects the fact that relativelyfew long-duration unauthorized immigrantshave returned to their countries of origin.The Pew Hispanic analysis also finds that

nearly half (46 percent) of unauthorizedadult immigrants today - about 4.7 millionpeople - are parents of minor children. Bycontrast, just 38 percent of legal immigrantadults and 29 percent of U.S.-born adultsare parents of minor children.

NCES Releases New Data onPostsecondary Employees andSalaries

WASHINGTON, D.C.

While adjusted nine-month averagesalaries for professors at degree-grantingpublic four-year institutions have increasedfrom 2004-05 to 2010-11 (adjusted forinflation) for both men and women, theadjusted nine-month average salaries(adjusted for inflation) for their counter-parts at degree-granting two-year publicinstitutions have decreased for both menand women from 2004-05 to 2010-11,according to new data released by theNational Center for Education Statistics.

Employees in Postsecondary Institutions,Fall 2010, and Salaries of Full-TimeInstructional Staff, 2010-11 presents datafrom the Winter 2010-11 IntegratedPostsecondary Education Data System,including data on the number of staffemployed in Title IV postsecondary institu-tions in fall 2010 by occupation, length ofcontract/teaching period, employment sta-tus, salary class, faculty and tenure status,academic rank, and gender.Other findings include:

• Institutions reported employing approxi-mately 3.9 million individuals in fall 2010;of the 3.9 million individuals, about 2.5 mil-lion were reported to be employed full timeand about 1.4 million were reported to beemployed part time

• Of the nearly 594,000 reported instruc-tional staff, 154,000 were professors,129,000 were associate professors, 132,000were assistant professors, 98,400 wereinstructors, and 29,600 were lecturers; theremaining 50,900 instructional staff had noacademic rank• Compared with fall 2004, the number ofinstructional staff reported to be employedat degree-granting institutions (excludingadministrative offices and medical schools)in fall 2010 increased from approximately1.1 million to about 1.3 million; during thissame time period, the proportion of theseinstructional staff classified as full timedecreased from 49 percent to 45 percent.

The Hispanic Outlook In Higher Education www.hispanicoutlook.com January 30, 2012


Fewer States Requiring Students toPass State High School Exit Exams,Study Finds

WASHINGTON, D.C.

For the first time in six years, the num-ber of states requiring students to pass highschool exit exams to earn a diploma hasgone down, according to the 10th annualreport on high school exams and otherassessments by the Center on EducationPolicy (CEP). But more than half the statesare preparing for new assessments alignedwith the Common Core State Standards andmore than one-fourth are offering college-and career-readiness assessments, thereport finds.

Twenty-five states have or plan to imple-ment policies that require students to passan exit exam to receive a high school diplo-ma – three fewer states than in 2010,according to the CEP report. An additionalsix states have or plan to put in place highschool exit exams but do not require stu-dents to meet a minimum passing standardon those exams to graduate.During the past 19 months, Georgia,

North Carolina and Tennessee have changedtheir policies so that students no longerhave to pass an exam to receive a diploma.Instead, a student’s exit exam score nowcounts as a percentage of the student’s finalgrade in a course required for graduation.Alabama will also make this change in2015. “Some states are lowering the stakes

attached to their high school exit exams,”said Shelby McIntosh, CEP research associ-ate and author of the report, “a trend thatcould certainly catch on in other states.”

State High School Tests: Changes inState Policies and the Impact of theCollege and Career ReadinessMovement,based on a survey of statedepartment of education personnel in thesummer of 2011, provides an overview ofstate policies on high school exit exams,college entrance exams (such as the ACT orSAT), and tests of students’ readiness forcollege and a career.The report can be accessed free of

charge at www.cep-dc.org.

Study Shows College RetentionRates Improved by TargetingStudents Receiving Pell Grants forSupplemental State Aid

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Strategically targeted need-based finan-cial aid dollars could improve higher edu-cation student retention rates – increasingchances of a student graduating from col-lege, according to a study conducted for theLouisiana Board of Regents.Authored by the American Institutes for

Research (AIR) and Noel-Levitz, the studyfound that targeting supplemental financialaid to students receiving Pell Grants inLouisiana improved retention rates by morethan 14 percent.The study examines financial aid policies

and approaches affecting four-year public

institutions in the state of Louisiana. Keyfindings include:• Pell Grants improve retention rates forthose students who are the most at-risk• Pell Grants help overcome differences inretention rates across income levels amongstudents with equivalent academic preparation• When Pell Grants are coupled withLouisiana’s GO Grants – which help nontra-ditional and low- to moderate-income stu-dents who need financial assistance toafford college – student retention ratesimprove by 14 percent compared with stu-dents receiving Pell Grants alone• Increasing GO Grants up to $4,000 and tar-geting the aid to students with weak overallfinancial aid awards could increase Louisiana’sretention rates, while saving the state hundredsof thousands of dollars annually“With public funding for financial aid

facing constraints at both the state and fed-

eral levels, there is heightened interest inthe question: How do strategies allocatingfinancial aid affect student retention andcompletion?” the authors write.“The study strongly suggests that raising aid

levels from state programs to students receiv-ing Pell Grants would increase retention ratesand save Louisiana money. This is an approachwith potential application in states throughoutthe country,” said co-author Mark Schneider,an AIR vice president who has conductedextensive research on the cost of collegedropouts to taxpayers and communities.The financial aid study was based on

37,251 full-time student records during thefall terms of 2006, 2007 and 2008 fromLouisiana’s public statewide and regionalfour-year universities and was funded by theBill & Melinda Gates Foundation.The full report is available on the AIR

website, www.air.org.

The Hispanic Outlook In Higher Education www.hispanicoutlook.com January 30, 2012



To register, or learn more, visit www.ptsem.edu, click on the “Admissions”drop-down menu and select “L.I.V.E. Symposium.”

Office of Multicultural Relations, Princeton Theological Seminary1.800.622.6767, ext. 1941, [email protected]

Making Room at the Table...

Explore Vocation in a Multicultural World

The L.I.V.E. Symposium(Learning, Inclusion, Vitality, Exploration)

March 14–17, 2012

1812–2012Celebrating Two Centuries of Service

Faculty PositionsNazareth College, an independent, comprehensiveinstitution with 2000 undergraduate and 1200 graduatestudents, prepares its graduates to serve local and globalcommunities through a wide range of liberal arts andprofessional programs. Nazareth seeks to hire teacher-scholars with a demonstrated commitment to excellentteaching, student success, and civic engagement, and anunderstanding of the educational benefits of ethnic andracial diversity in the campus community. The college islocated minutes from downtown Rochester, NewYork, acity noted for its rich arts and cultural community and itsinternational businesses and industry. Applications fromcandidates from diverse backgrounds are encouraged.For complete job opening details, please visit ourwebsite at www.naz.edu. EOE.

Art Department: Full-time, tenure-track AssistantProfessor of graphic design. The deadline forsubmission is February 10, 2012. Search CommitteeChair: Cathy Kirby, [email protected]

Inclusive Childhood Education: Clinical FacultyPosition in early childhood/childhood education.Deadline for submission is February 1, 2012. ContactDr. Kate DaBoll-Lavoie [email protected]

Music Department: Instrumental Area Coordinator(Tenure-track, Assistant Professor). Deadline forconsideration: February 1, 2012. Contact Dana Harissis,[email protected]

Nursing Department:Clinical or Tenure TrackAssistantProfessor. The deadline for submission is March 1, 2012.Search Committee Chair: Dr. Maureen Friedman,[email protected]

Occupational Therapy Department: Clinical Faculty/Academic Fieldwork Coordinator appointment (12month)in BS/MS Program, Occupational Therapy.Curriculum vitae and contacts for three professionalreferences to: Linda Shriber, Ed.D, OTR/L,[email protected], Chairperson. Applications will bereviewed beginning Feb. 1, 2012 and will be acceptedup to March 16, 2012.

Physical Therapy Department: Full-time, 9-monthtenure track faculty position. Qualified candidatesshould send a letter of intent, curriculum vitae, and thenames of 3 references by February 1 to:Marcia MillerSpoto, PT, DC, OCS via e-mail [email protected],(phone 585-389-2903) or by mail to Nazareth College,4245 East Avenue, Rochester, New York 14618-3790.

Psychology Department: Tenure Track, AssistantProfessor with expertise in general experimentalpsychology with an emphasis on Social/Personality andability to teach courses in Statistics and ExperimentalDesign, Abnormal, and Introduction to Psychology.Interested candidates should submit a curriculum vitae,statements of teaching and research and three letters ofreference to: Tim Bockes, PhD, [email protected] deadline for submission is January 20, 2012.

Theatre Arts Department: Tenure Track, AssistantProfessor of Dance, to develop and administer a new BSin Dance and to support a thriving Musical Theatreprogram. Send application, resume, digital performancesamples, all transcripts and names/addresses/telephonenumbers of three references on or before February 1,2012, to Professor Yuanting Zhao, [email protected]


Founded in 1956, the University of South Florida is a public research universityof growing national distinction. The USF System is comprised of memberinstitutions; USF Tampa, the doctoral granting institution which includes USF

Health; USF St. Petersburg; USF Sarasota-Manatee; USF Polytechnic, located inLakeland, separately accredited by the Commission Colleges of the SouthernAssociation of Colleges and Schools (SACS). USF is one of only four Florida publicuniversities classified by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching inthe top tier of research universities. More than 47,000 students are studying on USFcampuses and the University offers 228 degree programs at the undergraduate,graduate, specialty and doctoral levels, including the doctor of medicine. USF is amember of the Big East Athletic Conference. And, USF is listed in the PrincetonReview as one of the nation’s 50 “Best Value” public colleges and universities.

The university is currently recruiting for the following positions; the number inparentheses represents the number of positions available to that specific title:

Administrative Positions:Associate Vice President & Executive Director (Alumni Association)

Director of Housing Facilities (Student Affairs)Director of Development (University Advancement)Director of Development (Health Development)

Faculty Positions:College of Arts and Sciences EngineeringAssistant/Associate Professor (1) Assistant Professor (6)

Assistant Professor (5) Assistant/Associate Professor (1)

College of Medicine BusinessAssociate Dean (1) Assistant/Associate Professor (2)

Assistant Professor (6) Dean (1)

Assistant/Associate Professor (2) Associate/Full Professor (1)Neurosurgeon (1) Director/Professor (1)Associate Professor (1)

Education College of ArtsAssistant/Associate Professor (1) Dean (1)Assistant Professor (6)

Public Health PharmacyAssociate Professor (1) Assistant/Associate Professor (1)

Sarasota College of NursingAssistant Professor (1) Assistant/Associate Professor (1)Assistant/Associate Professor (1) Nursing Faculty (3)

St. Petersburg Campus Academic Affairs

Associate/Full Professor (1) Director/FacultyAdministrator (1)Associate Professor (1)

Lakeland

Associate/Full Professor (1)

For a job description on the above listed positions including department,disciple and deadline dates: (1) visit our Careers@USF Web site athttps://employment.usf.edu/applicants/jsp/shared/Welcome_css.jsp; or(2) contact TheOffice of Diversity and Equal Opportunity, (813) 974-4373; or(3) callUSF job line at 813.974.2879.

USF is an equal opportunity/equal access/affirmative action institution,

committed to excellence through diversity in education and employment.

www.usf.edu • 4202 E. Fowler Ave,Tampa, FL 33620

Dean of the School of Social Work

Wayne State University is seeking the next dean of the School of Social Work.

Founded in 1868, Wayne State University is a nationally recognizedmetropolitan research institution that offers more than 370 academic programsto over 30,000 students. Located in midtown Detroit, Wayne State’s maincampus consists of 102 buildings which span over 200 acres, and its fiveextension centers offer higher education to people throughout SoutheastMichigan. The 13 schools and colleges at the university include the School ofBusiness Administration; the College of Education; the College of Engineering;the College of Fine, Performing and CommunicationArts; the Graduate School;the Irvin D. Reid Honors College; the Law School; the College of Liberal Artsand Sciences; the School of Library and Information Science; the School ofMedicine; the College of Nursing; the EugeneApplebaum College of Pharmacyand Health Sciences; and the School of Social Work. Annual researchexpenditures for the university exceed $250 million.

For the past 76 years the Wayne State University School of Social Work hasprepared ethical and competent social work practitioners to promote social, culturaland economic justice for the betterment of poor, vulnerable, and oppressedindividuals, families, groups, communities, organizations, and society. The Schoolof SocialWork offers Bachelor of SocialWork, Master of SocialWork, and Ph. D.in Social Work degrees, with students enrolled across the three degree programs;in addition, the School has five graduate certificate programs and a continuingeducation program. The SSW is also home to the Center for Social Work Practiceand Policy Research. There are 22 full-time faculty and 6 academic staff, and 16administrative and support staff members.As of the Fall 2011 term, there were 942students enrolled (702 graduate students, 240 undergraduates).

Reporting to the provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, thedean is the chief academic and administrative officer. The successful candidatewill be expected to provide visionary leadership for the School’s academic andresearch programs including budget management, faculty recruitment andresource development. The candidate should be able to build bridges andencourage interdisciplinary scholarship.

The successful candidate will have strong administrative skills, preferablydeveloped in a large, complex environment; the ability to raise funds effectivelyand develop resources; and excellent interpersonal and communication skills.This individual also should have a commitment to diversity consistent with theuniversity’s mission as an urban public research institution. Candidates musthold a Ph.D. or equivalent terminal degree from an accredited institution (MSWnot required) and have a record of teaching and scholarly or professionalattainment that merits appointment as a professor with tenure. For additionalinformation on Wayne State University, please visit: http://wayne.edu/.

Initial screening of applicants will begin by January 23, 2012, and continueuntil the position is filled. Inquiries, nominations and applications should bedirected to the address below. Nominations of qualified candidates areencouraged. Candidates should include a curriculum vitae and letter of interest(electronic submissions preferred).

Dean Jerry HerronChair, Social Work Dean SearchIrvin D. Reid Honors CollegeWayne State UniversityDetroit, MI [email protected]

Wayne State University is an Affirmative Action/Equal Employment Opportunityemployer, which complies with all applicable federal and state laws regardingnondiscrimination and affirmative action. Wayne State University is committedto a policy of nondiscrimination and equal opportunity for all personsregardless of race, sex, color, religion, national origin, age, disability or veteranstatus, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.


Oklahoma City University seeks a Provost and Vice President for Academic A�airs to provide dynamic and innovative leadership for academic programs, student recruitment and retention, and faculty development.

The successful candidate will hold an earned doctorate in a discipline associated with the university and a distinguished record of academic accomplishment in teaching, scholarship, service, and administration in higher education. The Provost and Vice President for Academic A�airs reports to the president and serves as the university’s chief academic o�cer providing leadership and oversight for all schools and colleges of Oklahoma City University, several academic support o�ces, and enrollment services.

A private liberal arts institution founded in 1904 and a�liated with the United Methodist Church, Oklahoma City University o�ers more than 60 undergraduate majors and 12 graduate degree programs, with professional schools in law, business, nursing, dance/arts management, music, and theatre. Recognized for providing a personalized experience, small class sizes, and distinguished faculty, theuniversity’s 104-acre, park-like campus is located near downtown Oklahoma City and serves a diverse student body of approximately 3,800students. Oklahoma City is a dynamic metropolitan area that has recently experienced a renaissance in the arts, culture, and entertainment.Additionally, Oklahoma’s capital city boasts one of the strongest economies in the U.S., with industry in energy, healthcare, and aerospace.

Interested applicants are encouraged to visit our search website http://www.okcu.edu/provostsearch for additional information and application instructions.

The review of candidate materials will begin immediately and will continue until the position is �lled. Nominations or inquiries may be directed to:

Dr. Amy CataldiChair, Provost/VPAA Search Committee

C/O Human ResourcesOklahoma City University

2501 N. Blackwelder AvenueOklahoma City, OK 73106

okcu.edu/provostsearch

PROVOST AND VICE PRESIDENT FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS

Oklahoma City University is an equal opportunity employer and a�rms the values and goals of diversity. UA01612

Associate Vice President forAcademic Affairs

Kean, a comprehensive New Jersey state University,is committed to excellence and access and todeveloping, maintaining and strengthening interactiveties with the community. Kean University takes pridein its continuing effort to build a multiculturalprofessional community to serve a richly diversifiedstudent population of almost 16,000. The Universitysits on three adjoining campus sites covering 180acres, two miles from Newark Liberty InternationalAirport and thirty minutes from NewYork City.

Kean is seeking a well qualified and committedindividual to fill the position of Associate VicePresident for Academic Affairs. The Associate VicePresident will support and assist the Vice Presidentfor Academic Affairs in the leadership,management and day-to-day oversight of theDivision of Academic Affairs, consisting of sixcolleges, the University Library and severalacademic support units. The Associate VicePresident exercises direct managerial oversight ofthe University’s major academic student supportefforts, including the Center for Academic Success,the Educational Opportunities Center and theUniversity Library; oversees budgetary operationsfor the Division; coordinates the University’sassessment and honors programs and relationshipswith accrediting bodies; assists the Vice Presidentwith the management and development of Division-wide policies and procedures; and performsadditional duties as required.

Qualifications: Graduation from an accreditedcollege with a Master’s degree and a minimum ofsix years of professional experience in highereducation or a similar organization required. Aminimum of three years of the required experiencemust be in administration. Doctorate degree ispreferred and can be substituted for one year of therequired experience. Candidate must have excellentwriting and analytical skills and a record ofacademic and administrative accomplishmentcommensurate with appointment to a high leveladministrative position in a large and growinguniversity.

Application: Please send letter of application,resume and contact information for threeprofessional references to: Search CommitteeChairperson, Office of the Vice President forAcademic Affairs, Kean University, 1000 MorrisAvenue, Union, NJ 07083 or [email protected]. Review of applications will beginon February 8, 2012 and continue until anappointment is made. Salary is competitive andcommensurate with qualifications and experience.Official transcripts for all degrees and three currentletters of recommendation are required beforeappointment.

Kean University is an EOE/AA Institution

JobOpportunities in Higher Education

SEARCH

Hispanic/Job Opportunities/College Education/Diversity/Affirmative Action/CollegeRankings/ Scholarship Information/Teaching Information/ Administration Posi-tions/Faculty Positions/College Fairs/ Book Reviews/ Hispanic Careers/ Successleadership/Conferences/Hispanic Faculty/Student Recruitment

Covering:

www.HispanicOutlook.comVisit:

www.HispanicOutlook.com/listings.shtml

Call for Info. on Web Advertising!201-587-8800 ext. 102-106


The University of North Carolina (UNC) at AshevilleDepartment of Foreign Languages

Chair of Department of Foreign Languages,Associate or Full Professor

General InformationThe University of North Carolina (UNC) at Asheville, located in the Blue RidgeMountains in Western North Carolina, is the designated liberal arts institution in theUNC public university system. The successful candidate will join a vibrantcommunity of dedicated teacher/scholars in one of the nation’s top-ranked publicliberal arts universities. We value interdisciplinary programming and diversity in theliberal arts.

All departments at UNC Asheville contribute to the university-wide IntegrativeLiberal Studies program (our interdisciplinary liberal arts curriculum required of allundergraduates, including introductory (freshman) colloquia, writing andquantitative intensives, and other interdisciplinary courses). In addition, all facultyadvise undergraduate students and develop an active research program that typicallyincludes opportunities for undergraduate research.

Brief Description of the PositionWe are seeking applicants for a tenure-track faculty member to serve as Chair of theDepartment of Foreign Languages, which has 12 full-time faculty, 2 part-timefaculty, and one office support staff. Currently the department teaches Spanish,French, German and Portuguese, offering majors in the first three; however, thedepartment has begun to consider curriculum revisions in response to enrollmenttrends, student graduation rates and budget limitations. A successful candidate willbe able to lead through this transition with vision and commitment, teachundergraduate language and culture courses, and infuse the undergraduateexperience with the skills, aptitudes and values of the interdisciplinary liberal arts.

As UNCAsheville is committed to diversity and inclusion, the successful candidatewill demonstrate ability to foster a work environment that encourages knowledge of,respect for, and ability to engage with those of diverse races, ethnicities, cultures andbackgrounds. The candidate should also possess knowledge and understanding ofdiversity and inclusion issues, and their applications to pedagogy, curriculum,programming, service activity, and student and faculty success.

Qualifications Required for the Position• Successful record chairing a department of foreign languages• Doctoral degree and experience commensurate with prospective rank of hire• Native or near native competence in one of the current languages of

instruction and a solid knowledge of English• Area of specialization open with preference given to candidates with

experience in more than one language of instruction• Evidence of excellence in teaching and a strong scholarly record• Ademonstrated commitment to diversifying faculty, curriculum and programming

Candidates with the following areas of secondary professional, scholarly andcreative expertise are especially encouraged to apply: language practice andethnicity or gender, cultural representation, linguistics and cultural identity, languageand political history, indigenous literatures, and related fields.

Salary and Starting DateSalary is competitive and commensurate with education and experience. Anticipatedstart date is July 2012. Applications will be reviewed until position is filled.

ApplicationThe initial application should consist of a cover letter, current curriculum vita,statement of administrative and teaching philosophies, three letters of referenceappropriate to the criteria for the position and teaching evaluations, if available.Send materials via email to Dr. Jane Fernandes, Provost and Vice Chancellor,[email protected], 153 Phillips Hall, CPO #1410, University of North Carolinaat Asheville, One University Heights, Asheville, NC 28804-8503.

We encourage applications from traditionally underrepresented people. UNCAsheville is committed to increasing and sustaining the diversity of its faculty, staff,and student body as part of its mission and its commitment to excellence in the

liberal arts. UNC Asheville is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.

DEAN, ISABELLE FARRINGTON COLLEGE OF EDUCATION

Fairfield, ConnecticutSacred Heart University, a comprehensive co-educational independentCatholic university invites nominations and applications for the position ofDean of the Isabelle Farrington College of Education. Founded in 1963,Sacred Heart University was inspired by the ecumenical spirit of theSecond Vatican Council and it was the first US Catholic university led andstaffed by lay people. The University’s academic programs, rooted in theliberal arts and the Catholic Intellectual Tradition, are designed to developmen and women knowledgeable of self, rooted in faith, educated in mindand compassionate in heart. The University comprises of five colleges:the College of Arts & Sciences, the NCATE-accredited Isabelle FarringtonCollege of Education, the College of Health Professions, the John F.Welch College of Business and the University College. Together, thecolleges offer more than 50-degree programs at the associate’s,bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral levels. Newly restructured in 2011, the Isabelle Farrington College of Educationoffers programs that include certification in Teaching at the Elementaryand Secondary levels, Educational Leadership and Reading. The Collegealso offers a Master of Arts in Teaching as well as advanced studyprograms in Teaching, Literacy and Educational Leadership.The Dean is the College’s chief academic, executive, and fiscal officer, amember of the University’s academic leadership team and reports to theprovost and vice president for academic affairs. The College of EducationDean will be responsible for the overall academic businesses, planningand leadership of the College. Major responsibilities include: advocatingfor its interests within and outside the University, engaging and serving thelocal and regional educational community, working to increase theCollege’s visibility and securing the resources necessary to fulfill itsambitions. The Dean will be also responsible for maintaining anddeveloping new academic programs; promoting an organizational climatethat fosters excellence in teaching, research, professional practice andservice as well as supporting the continued professional development offaculty and staff.The Dean will hold an earned doctorate in an educational field. Thesuccessful candidate will possess experience as a higher educationadministrator and a record of scholarship, teaching, and currentinvolvement in K-12 public education. The Dean must be able toarticulate a clear academic vision and strategy for the College, promoteacademic rigor, drive the development of new academic programs,foster a collegial and collaborative ethos that capitalizes on the richnessof the SHU community and encourage a continued commitment toacademic excellence. This is an exceptional opportunity for an accomplished academic leaderwith vision, spirit of innovation, a participatory leadership philosophy anda deep commitment to the mission of the University. Sacred HeartUniversity does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin,sex, religion, age or disability in employment and is an equal access/equalopportunity affirmative action University.Sacred Heart University has retained the services of Isaacson, Miller, anational executive search firm, to assist in this critical effort.Confidential inquiries, nominations, referrals and resumes with coverletters should be sent to: David A. Haley, Vice President & Director orNureen Das, Associate, 263 Summer Street, 7th Floor, Boston, MA02210, [email protected]. Email submission of applicationmaterials is strongly encouraged.

More information on the College may be found athttp://www.sacredheart.edu/

pages/539_isabelle_farrington_college_of_education.cfm. SHU is an EEO/AA/ADA employer.


Salinas, CA

Equal Opportunity Employer

SUPERINTENDENT / PRESIDENTThe Board of Trustees of Hartnell Community College invites nominations and applications for the position of Superintendent/President of HartnellCommunity College. The College is located on California’s Central Coast and enjoys the advantages of a beautiful agricultural setting and easy accessto metropolitan life, including many other educational institutions. Hartnell College is an Hispanic serving institution with a large diverse population. The college seeks a dynamic, experienced and visionary higher education leader,with a focus on student success, who will connect with the community and will lead the college to the next level of development.

To learn more about the College, and for a full position description and application procedures, please visit http://apptrkr.com/224228 orwww.acctsearches.org

The review of applications will continue until the position is filled. The target date for applications is: Thursday, February 23, 2012.

For additional information, nominations or confidential inquiries, contactDr. Pamila Fisher, ACCT Search Consultant, (406) 570-0516, [email protected] or Dr. Narcisa Polonio, ACCT Vice President for Research,Education and Board Leadership Services at (202) 276- 1983,[email protected].

V i r g i n i a C o m m o n w e a l t hU n i v e r s i t y

VCUVDOE’s T/TAC at VCU

PROGRAM SPECIALIST INBEHAVIORGrades K-5

The Virginia Department of Education’s (VDOE) Training and TechnicalAssistance Center (T/TAC) at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) isseeking an experienced and dynamic professional to serve as a programspecialist for personnel serving children and youth with disabilities. Thisperson will join a team of Program Specialists who provide training andtechnical assistance to schools, school divisions and state operated programsin the central and Southside Virginia regions. This is a twelve month non-tenure track position that is grant funded through June 30, 2012. The positionis located at the T/TAC office in Richmond. Requirements include: a Master’s degree in Special Education,Administration and Supervision, Curriculum and Instruction, or a related fieldin Education: licensed or eligible for a Virginia Licensure in teaching orcredentialing system for specific discipline; a minimum of seven years ofteaching/supporting elementary age students (Grades K - 5); and at leastone year of experience supporting school divisions in implementing aschool-wide PBIS/ESD program.For complete information and the application process, please visit ourwebsite: www.vcu.edu/ttac.

Application Deadline: Feb 29, 2012

Virginia Commonwealth University is an equal opportunity/affirmativeaction employer. Women, minorities and person with disabilities are

encouraged to apply.

Suffolk County Community College (SCCC) is an outstanding multi-

campus community college with an excellent reputation for high quality

instruction, programs and services. The College is the largest community

college in New York State and educates over 26,000 credit students and

10,000 non-credit and workforce training students on its three campuses -

Ammerman (Selden, NY), Eastern (Riverhead, NY), and Michael J. Grant

(Brentwood, NY), as well as the Sayville Center and the Riverhead Culinary

Arts and Hospitality Center. There are 493 full-time faculty and 1,458 adjunct

faculty teaching 71 degree programs and 30 certificate programs. Suffolk

County is the largest suburban county in the State of New York, with a

population of over 1.5 million people. The attractive county includes rural

and suburban communities. For more information visit the College web site

at www.sunysuffolk.edu.

Associate Vice President of Student AffairsSSCCC seeks highly qualified candidates for the role of Associate Vice

President for Student Affairs. The successful candidate will be an

experienced administrator who will foster collaboration both at the campus

level and college-wide. The Associate Vice President for Student Affairs

reports to the Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs and as the

college chief student affairs officer is responsible for the planning, policy

development, implementation and assessment of all college student affairs

programs and services consistent with the college mission and goals. For the

full position profile please go to:

http://access.sunysuffolk.edu/Faculty/HumanResources/index.asp?id=465

ChancellorDelgado Community College

The Louisiana Community and Technical College System invite nominations andapplications for the position of Chancellor of Delgado Community College. TheChancellor reports to President of the Louisiana Community & Technical CollegeSystem. The System is comprised of seven community colleges, three technicalcommunity colleges and six technical colleges all offering world class programs. Eachcollege has its own character with consistent System goals and plays an important rolein expanding Louisiana’s workforce by offering degrees and certificates to meet theneeds expressed by their communities and that complement the local economy.

To learn more about Delgado Community College, please visit www.dcc.edu

Required Qualifications for the position include:• Earned doctorate or terminal degree from an accredited institution• Minimum of 5 years successful experience at the Vice President or

President/Chancellor level in an institution of higher education,preferably in a comprehensive community college

For a full position description and application procedures, please visitwww.lctcs.edu or www.acctsearches.org

Salary and benefits are competitive. The review of applicationswill continue until the position is filled. Candidates are encouraged

to submit a complete application prior toWednesday February 15, 2012

An Association of Community College Trustees Assisted Search

Confidential inquiries regarding the application process or nominations should bedirected to Dr. Narcisa Polonio, ACCT Vice President for Research, Education andBoard Leadership Services at (202) 276-1983 (mobile), (202) 775-4670 (office) [email protected]

*** An ACCT Search***www.acctsearches.org


Santa Monica Community College is accepting applications forthe following full-time, tenure-track faculty positions:

• Communications (Global Media)• Dance• English - Developmental/Transfer• English as a Second Language (2)• Geology• Interior Architectural Design• Korean• Mathematics - Developmental/College Level• Medical Laboratory Technician• Nursing• Photography (Commercial)• World History

SMC is also recruiting for the following academic administrative position:• Director, STEM(Science,Technology, Engineering andMathematics)

The Santa Monica Community College District operates a single college (SantaMonica College) with a 42-acre main campus and five satellite campuses in theCity of Santa Monica, located in the western part of Los Angeles County. TheCollege provides excellent academic and career technical programs andcounseling services to an ethnically diverse student population.

Interested applicants may review the job bulletins and apply online athttps://jobs.smc.edu , or contact the Office of Human Resources at

310-434-4336 (24 hr. employment information line).

EOE

Division of Enrollment Management:Associate Vice President

The position focuses specifically on the seamlesscollaboration between the Division and campusacademic departments, administrative units and studentservices offices. Has direct supervision of the Office ofAdmissions and the Office of Student Financial Affairscollaborating with the directors in the successfulplanning and implementation of services. Has Divisionwide responsibility as it relates to research andassessment, budgeting and staff development.

For a full job description and application, please visithttp://jobs.ufl.edu requisition # 0810238

Open until filled.

Go to:www.sjcny.edu/

employmentfor further detail.EOE

TENURE TRACKFACULTY · F/T

POSITION BEGINNING APRIL 2012 FOR:

CHILD STUDYSeeks candidate with specialization in SpecialEducation, Ph.D in Special Education andminimum of 2 yrs exp teaching students withdisabilities. Higher education exp preferred.

Send resumes and cover letter to:Susan Straut-Collard,

245 Clinton Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11205

H I S P A N I C O U T L O O K • 0 1 / 3 0 / 2 0 1 2

P.O. Box 68 Paramus, NJ 07652-0068

CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED

Thedismissal bell rang at a high school largely servingLatinos and other minorities, and I watched, stunned, asthe students were shooed off campus. Only those in foot-

ball practice or tutoring could stay. For all other students, school wasover and they were told to clear out. Go home. Go anywhere. Get off thecampus so security could lock up and adults could go home.

It was considered a failing school, with high dropout rates and lowachievement scores. Hardly welcoming, most students knew that it waswhere they were required to spend their time, but it wasn’t their place.

Switch scenes to a college campus. Ask a random sample of studentswhat they enjoyed most about high school and many will name time spentwith friends and extracurricular activities. Athletics, leadership organiza-tions, community service groups, and scholastic competitive teams arethe carrot at the end of the academic stick for many students: completeyour schoolwork and you can enjoy what you choose outside of class.

While a high school student selects extracurricular activities becauseshe is good at them and they are fun, those activities will also help herbecome well-rounded in preparation for higher education. For manyLatino students, extracurricular activities are the most appealing part ofschool, outside the classroom where they might feel compelled to dowork for its own sake. Through extracurricular activities Hispanic stu-dents build new relationships and access a broad menu of possibilities.By voluntarily attempting something new in an extracurricular activity, aLatino might discover his talents and build lifelong, useful skills.

Why are extracurricular activities such a draw for Latino students?Whether students are in sports or on the student council, taking pictures

for the yearbook or thinking on their feet in debate or mock trial, they arelearning goal setting, determination and perseverance. As contextual learners,Hispanic students can see classroom principles applied in the “real-life” situa-tions of extracurricular activities. Writing well or making and executing planssuddenly make sense because they serve a clear, self-determined purpose.

Of equal or greater importance than goal-attainment in extracurricu-lar activities for some Latinos, though, are the interpersonal relation-ships developed on teams or in clubs. Working with others toward a

mutual goal, spending leisure time infun conversation and learningtogether adds an important, lastingdimension to the school experience. Structured, extracurricular activi-ties often permit a spontaneous, more casual, less-prescribed way oflearning. Unlike a typical classroom where students receive informationprepared by a teacher, students self-discover, master skills and gainknowledge in a more naturally evolving way through extracurricularactivities. They learn the merits of planning, researching, practicing,competing, executing, evaluating and celebrating the outcome on adebate, mock trial or model U.N. team. And they learn the same lessonsthrough athletics. Understanding the rules of the game, developingstrategies and tactics to win, practicing, facing an opponent and accept-ing the outcome are all part of success.

Schools that close the campus 20 minutes after dismissal aren’t big onextracurricular activities, and they aren’t big on retention and academic suc-cess, either. Budget cuts and the emphasis on standardized testing don’t help,since extracurricular activities (especially nonathletics) often take a backseator get wiped out completely when money is tight or the pressure is on.

School administrators might argue that schools cannot affordextracurricular activities. Truthfully, they can’t afford not to sponsorthem.

Retooling schools to provide extracurricular activities can help stu-dents engage and commit to learning in and outside the classroom.Those activities need to be inclusive culturally, economically and talent-wise so all students can participate if they desire. Requiring students totry out for teams and then ousting those who don’t make the cut runscounter to the purpose of a school – educating students – and to thebasic Latino value of loyalty to the group. Instead, communities must sup-port the schools to find ways for Hispanic students to belong and thrive.By integrating service, leadership and student engagement, Latinos andothers will naturally do their personal best. All are better served byencouraging teens to participate in extracurricular activities at school lestthey find less productive – and more dangerous – options elsewhere.

EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES HELP LATINO STUDENTSPREPARE FOR HIGHER ED

PPrriimmiinngg tthhee PPuummpp......

Miquela Rivera, Ph.D., is a licensed psychologist withyears of clinical, early childhood and consultativeexperience. She lives in Albuquerque, N.M.

These articles appearedonline only in the

01/30/12Issue


California Dreamin’California Dreamin’by Gustavo A. Mellander

Ithas long been known that higher education enhances a person’sprofessional options and financial opportunities. And that’s no sin.Blind dedication to seeking unlimited wealth is.

So how are we doing? Let’s focus on the average undergrad whoreceives effective orientation and selects a major that meets her interestsand capabilities. Her college degree will boost her earnings throughouther working career.

I purposely used a female example because more females attend col-lege than men nowadays. That is true even in medical colleges and lawschools. Yet according to Brian Burnsed from U.S. News & World Report,“women and minorities benefit less from a college education.” His dataare from Georgetown University’s Center for Education, specifically its TheCollege Payoff report.

Yet higher education remains a great investment for all concerned.Intellectual development and the opening of new horizons is the first bene-fit but the financial rewards are good as well. Persons who complete grad-uate education earn more during their careers than those with less educa-tion. Those with bachelor’s degrees earn about $2.27 million over theirlifetime, while those with masters, doctoral, or professional degrees earn$2.67 million, $3.25 million and $3.65 million, respectively.

Those with bachelor’s degrees, no matter the field, earn vastly morethan their counterparts with some college ($1.55 million in lifetime earn-ings) or a high school diploma ($1.30 million lifetime).

In short, acquiring more education, no matter the level of attainmentor the field of study, invariably results in greater financial success.

Interestingly, financial rewards are predicated on one’s course of study.As most Hispanic Outlook readers know, one’s academic major and theindustry we select have an enormous impact on our lifetime earnings.

The Higher-Paid OnesWhich careers on average pay more? The STEM ones. That is to say,

careers in science, technology, engineering or mathematics. These STEMcareerists earn more, on average, than people, even with advanceddegrees, who work in fields such as education and service professions. (Itis well to remember that most Hispanics still work in service-oriented pro-fessions such as education, social services and community service. Wemight want to be more aggressive in advising our students about the otheropportunities that exist.)

Luckily the Bush administration established significant scholarshipsand grants for youngsters to train for STEM careers. President Obama con-tinued those programs so opportunities exist.

Let’s heed Jamie Merisotis, president of Lumina Foundation, whorecently commented, “The payoff from getting a college degree is huge andis actually increasing. For people wondering if a college degree is worth it:Not only is it worth it, but the premium is growing.”

Sobering NewsUnfortunately, sobering news still exists for college-bound women and

minorities.The glass ceiling for women seems shatterproof. It’s hard to get promot-

ed. And salaries are impacted. Across all industries, women have to obtain aPh.D. to earn more in their lifetimes ($2.86 million) than men with only abachelor’s degree ($2.60 million). Similarly, women with bachelor’sdegrees earn nearly the same – about $1.90 million – over the course oftheir careers as men with some college experience but no degree.

This suggests that women who want to earn more than their male coun-terparts will either have to attain more degrees or select a higher-payingindustry. Many women are on to that and are closing the gap by gettingmore education.

MinoritiesAll ethnic groups’ career earnings are less than those of Caucasians.

That is true for minorities with master’s, doctoral, and professionaldegrees. The sole exception are Asian-Americans, who outpace Caucasianswith similar degrees.

Hispanics with master’s degrees earn nearly the same in their lifetimes– roughly $2.50 million. That is how much Caucasians workers with bach-elor’s degrees earn.

Golden State High Schoolers: Ill-Prepared for College or LifeI bring up California because so many young Hispanics live there. Also,

California is a national pacesetter. Much of what happens there ultimatelyinfluences the whole nation. Like all states, California’s prosperity rests onthe strength of its work force. A new report from the Education Trust-West(ETW) finds that the Golden State’s high schools aren’t preparing studentsto participate in an economy that increasingly demands a college education.

Across five districts it studied, college-readiness rates among highschool graduates ranged from 24 percent to 60 percent. In one illustrativedistrict, the course of study provided to about 30 percent of White highschool graduates and almost half of Hispanic graduates failed to preparethem for either college or a career.

Similar patterns exist nationwide. ACT test results show that only 66 percentof U.S. test takers overall met the college-readiness benchmark in English, and

TARGETING HIGHER EDUCATION

0 1 / 3 0 / 2 0 1 2 • H I S P A N I C O U T L O O K

just 43 percent met the college-readiness benchmark in mathematics.Minorities scored even lower. Among Hispanics, 46 percent met the

benchmark in English, 27 percent in math. For Blacks, 34 percent reachedthe benchmark in English; 13 percent did so in math.

Education Master PlansIn the past, California fashioned serious forward-thinking educational

plans that were second to none. Its statewide education master plans werestudied and copied by many other states and indeed foreign nations.

After World War II, serious education reforms opened the doors formillions who heretofore had not been served. This led to a golden era forinnovation, for business, for progress.

Yet the bloom began to fade some 20 years ago. One reason many sug-gest is that California’s schools began to falter. One indicator notes that justthree-quarters of students entering grade school earn a high school diplo-ma. Further, many who do graduate lack the necessary skills to succeed incollege or for meaningful careers, a significant cohort comprising 60 per-cent of the state’s public school population.

Only six out of every 10 Hispanic and students who enter high schoolactually graduate. Of these, less than a quarter complete the courseworknecessary to apply for admission to California’s four-year public universities.

If these statistics weren’t dismal enough, current data on college suc-cess is just as alarming. Although Latino students are now being admittedto colleges at a healthy rate not dreamed of two generations ago, their col-lege achievements are dismal. Many take a full six years to graduate.Thousands never do graduate.

In the more selective University of California system, barely three quar-ters of Hispanic and Blacks graduate in six years.

What about California’s renowned community colleges? More than half ofHispanic students start their higher education careers there. What’s their record?

It is a disappointing one. The dropout rate is 60 percent at some col-leges. Less than a third of Hispanic and Black students who stated an inter-est to transfer to a four-year college ever transfer.

EmploymentStudies also reveal a dramatic 10-year decline in the employment rate

among teens and young adults. Many just can’t find meaningful employ-ment. Unlike centuries gone by, having a strong back and a good workethic are not enough to secure good employment nowadays.

Employers are frequently disappointed that the youngsters they hirelack essential knowledge to learn and grow. Their foundations are weakand fragmented. Employers seek and need advanced levels of preparationamong their employees, even low-level ones, so they can learn new skills.Many high school graduates don’t have them.

Jobs once considered “blue-collar and labor-intensive” now require arigorous academic foundation. Automotive technicians, plumbers, manu-facturing workers and the building trades require “college-track” levels ofphysics and mathematical skills, not to mention strong English literacy.

In today’s reality, much of the training for these occupations takes placein two-year colleges. So unless more Hispanic youngsters go to these col-leges and succeed, they will not be able to enter these professions.

Limiting RealityA study, Unlocking Doors and Expanding Opportunity: Moving

Beyond the Limiting Reality of College and Career Readiness inCalifornia, has just been released. It is as wordy as its title but full of use-ful analysis and advice. I think of it as a latter-day “California Dreamin’.”

Among many facts, the report notes that California, “to meet workplaceneeds for the next two decades, will need one million more college graduates.”

These graduates will be needed in high-growth job sectors such as business,arts and design, health care, and transportation. Presently, they either require orhave dramatically increased their proportion of college-educated workers. It isclear that they will continue to notch up education requirements. So greaternumbers of students will need to earn bachelor’s degrees to be hired.

The report emphasizes that to respond to these needs, California’s highschools “must dramatically increase not only the number of students whoearn diplomas, but they must graduate with meaningful preparation.”

This means ensuring that students have the skills, knowledge andcoursework necessary to access college and career opportunities. And itmeans eliminating the systematic tracking that exacerbates differencesamong student subgroups. The present system places low-income students,which includes most Hispanics, in tracks that receive less rigorous instruc-tion and coursework. The ultimate results are inferior educational out-comes that lead inevitably to fewer career opportunities.

Linked LearningLuckily, there is a fresh groundswell of commitment to high school

reform in California. Educators and policymakers are refocused to expandcollege and career readiness.

One of the efforts already inaugurated is called Linked Learning. It pro-poses to increase graduation rates and prepare students for both collegeand career options “by offering an engaging, relevant and rigorous courseof study – one that includes college-preparatory coursework, challengingtechnical courses, work-based learning opportunities, and supplementalservices to support students.”

In the Linked Learning approach, high schools must “open doors toboth college and career education. Few students are currently receivingeither a truly integrated college-ready or career-ready education. Secondly“career education” is often a less rigorous option targeted disproportion-ately at low-income students.

It is contended that each student should receive a rigorous education.The traditional practice of closing one door to open the other should end.

It is not a new concept, and it will not guarantee success for all. But Ithink it is a step in the right direction.

Two important concepts are necessary:1. A commitment to offer solid college preparation programs in all

high schools. Better coordination is needed with the higher education sec-tor. Presently, overall levels of access to and success in college-readycoursework are far too low, especially for low-income students.

2. A new way of thinking about career preparation is needed. Careereducation is a necessary element of our society. It should not be a dump-ing ground. It should be imbued with dignity. The first step is raise thelevel, rigor and relevance of student coursework.

By reframing college and career readiness and making a commitment toequity in opportunity, all high school graduates could acquire the skills, knowl-edge and coursework needed to unlock all of the doors in front of them.

Bottom LineWeaknesses in career skills and college preparatory programs of study in

high school exist nationwide. The dismal records of too many students oncethey leave high school accentuates the need for reform. The first step mustbe to infuse more rigor into both courses of study. Society does not help stu-dents by passing them on before they learned what they should have.

Will California lead the way? Or is this just “California Dreamin’?”

Dr. Mellander, a native Californian, was a college president for 20years and an outspoken supporter of higher academic standards.


JournalistClaimsTenure/AdjunctsLead to PoorQualityEducationby Frank DiMaria

InThe Faculty Lounges and Other Reasons Why You Won’t Get theCollege Education You Paid For, Naomi Schaefer Riley contendsthat tenure and the use of adjuncts are the biggest obstacles in a

student’s pursuit of a quality, affordable education.Riley, who is Harvard educated and whose parents are academics, con-

tends that at most colleges, promotion and tenure decisions are based noton teaching ability or whether or not professors have prepared their stu-dents for the work force, but rather on a record of publication. Her opin-ion is a familiar one.

“Higher education is a game of prestige, and the way professors gainprestige is by publishing articles and books. It doesn’t matter who readsthem as long as they are in a peer-reviewed journal. So for professors whowant to move up the ladder either to the next step at their university or toget a better position at another university, publishing is the only thing thatmatters. People at prestigious universities joke that getting a teachingaward is the death knell for your career,” says Riley, formerly at The WallStreet Journal covering religion, higher education and philanthropy for itseditorial page.

Students searching for a college often consult popular resources suchas the U.S. News & World Report rankings. The problem with thatapproach, says Riley, is that a significant portion of those rankings is basedon a school’s reputation, which is based on the publishing record of itsprofessors.

“They think they are finding the ideal campus atmosphere or they maythink they are finding the ideal classroom experience. But one tool they use– these rankings – is relying significantly on the reputation of the school,which does not have a whole lot to do about the experience they will have inthe classroom. ... Students go to universities expecting they are going tohave a particular classroom experience, and in fact the students’ classroomexperience is the lowest priority on the mind of faculty,” says Riley.

In her book, Riley states that professors who have been awarded tenurebecause of brilliant research are still considered assets to their universitiesif they do not publish another paper for the rest of their careers. Their rep-utation alone draws more students, more alumni donations, more grantmoney and a higher U.S. News & World Report ranking. But professorswho are awarded tenure based on their teaching talent are of no use if theydecide not to put much effort into teaching any more, she says.

One of the problems with tenure, according to Riley, is that once pro-fessors gain tenure, they are no longer evaluated. Teaching is a dynamicprofession, says Riley, and those who teach are in need of constant evalua-tion to determine if they are doing it well. “Just because you taught a classwell 15 years ago, it doesn’t necessarily help the students in front of younow at all,” says Riley.

And once professors are tenured and enjoy the academic freedom theyhave earned, they feel they can do whatever they want, says Riley.

Professors’ rush to publish on subjects that are novel, exciting andnever before researched means that the market is flooded with books andpapers on near meaningless and obscure topics, in her view. She notes thatin 2008, according to the Year’s Work in English Studies, more than 100new scholarly books were published on Shakespeare alone. Riley writes:“Tenure depends on the professor’s ability to say something new, but it isno longer easy to carve out new things to say.” She suggests that professorsspend more time introducing young minds to Shakespeare’s works ratherthan publishing on the minutiae of his life.

While full professors are busying themselves with researching and pub-lishing on obscure topics, courses they would otherwise be teaching areassigned to adjuncts who, according to Riley, “do the real work of teach-ing.” These individuals often hold positions at more than one campus,earn less than minimum wage and typically don’t have offices or receivebenefits. They are part-time faculty or graduate students hired on a semes-

FACULTY

0 1 / 3 0 / 2 0 1 2 • H I S P A N I C O U T L O O K

ter-to-semester basis and are treated like second-class citizens by their col-leagues, Riley writes.

The relationship between adjuncts and their institution is tenuous, andstudents are aware of that. Riley introduces her readers to Nancy Jimeno,an adjunct at Cal State Fullerton Riverside. Jimeno came to teaching late inlife and calls herself naïve. When she was attending graduate school at CalState Fullerton and had finished everything but her dissertation, sheassumed the school would offer her a teaching position. It did – as anadjunct lecturer for $600 per month, with 90 percent of the students com-ing from homes where English is not spoken and 60 percent not preparedfor college at all.

College students, says Riley, often wonder if the adjunct standing beforethem in the classroom will be there next semester, and they get a sense ofhow much the university cares about teaching in general from the way ittreats the adjuncts. Adjuncts, she says, are burdened by the amount ofteaching they have to do. They are given huge introductory classes, whichprofessors who are higher up on the ladder typically do not want to teach.Because adjuncts are rarely offered offices, they have to meet their stu-dents at Starbucks or in the faculty parking lot.

Institutions renew adjuncts’ contracts based on student evaluations,because faculty members will rarely, if ever, sit in on an adjunct’s class,considering it a waste of time. But this method of evaluation leads to gradeinflation. “What happens is – if adjuncts want a job for the next semester,they give students good grades. There are a couple of studies that looked atthis. I can’t say that this is universally true, but it does seem to me that thatis the way incentives are pointing. If you want to keep your job for anothersemester and the job’s evaluation is basically based only on what studentssay, you have to give students high grades,” says Riley.

Adjuncts also contribute to lower graduation rates in what Riley calls avicious cycle. The people on campus who are the most qualified to teachare the ones least interested in teaching, particularly large classes, intro-ductory classes and remedial classes. “The remedial students then are get-ting screwed,” says Riley.

But that’s not to say that all adjuncts are less qualified than full pro-fessors. It comes down to time. Adjuncts who hold positions at multiplecampuses do not have the time needed to devote to their students andclasses. “Imagine yourself as a student and you’ve just finished yourEnglish 101 class with an adjunct who’s basically racing out the door toget to the next job.”

If tenure were abolished in higher education, institutions could elimi-nate those inefficiencies brought on by tenured professors who don’t reallydo anything on staff, says Riley, who has been a guest lecturer at half adozen colleges and taught one two-week journalism course.

The abolition of tenure would also change the higher education jobmarket, which would take on aspects of the job market outside highereducation. Professors often grouse about their inability to teach in a placethey most want to live. “They get a job right out of graduate school. Theirfirst job may be in North Dakota, and they may not want to live there therest of their life. But if they get tenure there, they’ll never go anywhere,”says Riley. If institutions did not offer tenure, she believes, there would bemore movement among professors and institutions would be forced tooffer salaries dependant on the quality of the individual professor ratherthan on a schedule or pay scale.

Rather than tenure, Riley suggests that institutions offer professors mul-tiyear contracts based on, among other criteria, the evaluation of adminis-

tration, former students and fellow professors.“People throw up their hands and say, ‘You can’t evaluate teaching; it’s

all subjective,’ and I don’t think that’s the case. I think student evaluationsare worth something, but they are not the be-all and end-all. What mostpeople who studied them find is that they are pretty accurate at the highestand lowest levels. So if you walk on campus, students can tell you who thebest professors are and who the worst professors are. In the middle, it getskind of muffled. Secondly, administration and other professors and col-leagues can do some type of evaluation and sit in on a class. They knowwhat the content is supposed to be, and they can actually tell whether aprofessor is effectively delivering it,” says Riley.

To illustrate her point, Riley writes about John Silber, the former andlongtime president of Boston University, who told her that he never offeredtenure to professors without sitting in on their classes. “Once in a lifetimeyou’ll find a college president who does something like that; it’s kind ofrare,” she says.

Riley suggests that a school’s young alumni should also have a voice inthe evaluation process. Two to three years removed from their collegeexperience, these individuals can draw upon their real-world situationsand bring that into the evaluation, determining if a course had been effec-tive in their lives beyond college. At that point in one’s life, she says, theywould have gotten over any resentment toward professors who gave badgrades and have enough distance from their classroom experience tomake an evaluation based on which professors had the most significanteffect on their lives. “I really think young alumni evaluations would be agood addition to this process,” says Riley.

For students to receive better value for their tuition dollars, theirclassroom experience must change for the better, according to Riley, andthat starts with general education requirements taught by full professors.Riley says that professors have basically abdicated their responsibilities.They provide students with a list of the basic foundational topics they needto be an educated person, but at the same time these professors havegone off in their own particular direction doing their own particularresearch and teaching classes in the narrow niches they are researching,after completing four years, it is not clear to them or anyone else whatthey have learned.

Both faculty and students play a role in determining whether or notAmerica’s college students receive the education they pay for. Faculty,says Riley, is in charge of the broad theoretical issues as well as thosemundane things that can also be important. She feels there is going tohave to be a combination in which administration exerts some powerover faculty and faculty are going to have to get with the program whileparents and students are going to have to be a little smarter about howthey buy higher education.

Anthony Grafton, in The New York Review of Books, calls her book “ablast at professors written by a distinguished journalist.” But adds, “WhenRiley dismisses most research as worthless because a few senior acade-mics say it is,” she takes flight “into a realm of higher snark that is fun toread but ultimately unhelpful.”

01/30/2012 financing a college education

Documents