Latinos and Christian Higher Education: Current Needs & Future Opportunities in the Recruitment and Retention of Latino Students

- A West Coast Perspective -Pete C. Menjares, Ph.D.

Biola UniversityCCCU International Forum, Atlanta

February 23-26, 2010

Race and Ethnicity by Students

U.S. Student Diversity (2007)Total Enrollment est. at 17.5 million

% White64

% Black13

% Hispanic 11% Asian 7%American Indian 1% Nonresident Alien 3

% Total Minority 31

Source: http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=98

CCCU EnrollmentTotal Enrollment at 244,086

% White 77% Black 8% Hispanic 4% Asian 2% American Indian 1% Race-Unknown 5% Nonresident Alien 2

% Total Minority 17

Source: http://chronicle.com/premium/stats/race/2007/index.php

Latino Characteristics in the West• 45% of all Latinos are in California and Texas

• Persons of Hispanic or Latino origin in CA at 36.6% (US = 15.4%)

• Latinos are the largest ethnic group in Southern California at 41%

• Latinos are the largest ethnic group in L.A. County at 45%

• CA is home to 84 Hispanic Serving Institutions (minimum 25% Latino FTE)

• 48% of all HSIs are two-year public schools

Latino Enrollment in the Region• Fresno Pacific University 25.8%• California Baptist University17.2%• Vanguard University 17.1%• Azusa Pacific University 13.2%• Concordia University 13.1%• Biola University 11.5%• Point Loma Nazarene 10.7%• Westmont College 09.8%• The Master’s College 07.5%• Seattle Pacific University 02.6%

Source: IPEDS, 2006

Biola Student Profile, Fall 2009

• Total University Diversity 35%

• Total Latino (HD 564) 9%

• Total Undergraduate Diversity 32%

• Latino UG (HD 487) 13%

Biola Student Profile

• Gabby, 1.5 gen immigrant Latina, bilingual, Spanish only at home

• Daniel, 4th gen immigrant Latino, English dominant, English spoken at home

• Sonia, 2nd gen immigrant Latina, bilingual, Spanish only at home, commutes 2hrs one way

Recruitment and Retention

• Recruitment of Latino students has increased from 8% in 2002 to 13% in 2009

• Retention of Latino students has improved from 59% in 1998 to 77% in 2007

Hispanics as Percent of Incoming UG

Accounting for Change

• Increasingly diverse admissions and recruitment staff, including bilingual staff

• The Biola Ethnic Advancement Team (B.E.A.T.)

• The Students of Under-Represented Groups of Ethnicity (SURGE) has increased from $249,852 in 01/02 to $429,183 in 07/08 (+71%)

Accounting for Change

• The East Los Angeles Community Union matching scholarships for 10 Latino students each year (we had 40+ students in 2008)

• Board of Trustee quasi-endowed scholarship fund for minority students now at $1,000,000.00

• Retention Task Force

Accounting for Change

• Unidos Club

• Collegium Commuter Lounge

• Office of Diversity Leadership

• Increased support for the Office of Multi-Ethnic Programs

Accounting for Change

• Reconciliation Chapel Program

• Increase in Latino faculty and staff

• Increased Latino representation on the Board of Trustees

• Annual Biola Hispanic Conference

Current Needs

Retention Challenges• Campus Climate

– Interactions with majority culture– “Culture shock”– Curricular voids– Few faculty/administrative role models/mentors– Ignorance about Latinos and Latino culture

• Commuter Life versus Residence Life

• Work and Study

• Academic Support versus Familial Obligations

Recruitment Challenges

• Institutional Awareness

• Affordability

• Transfer Students

• Latino Parents, Pastors, and Church leaders

• Spanish Language considerations

Latino Faculty Challenges• Minority faculty remain underrepresented in American higher education

at 17% (Turner, González, and Wood, 2008)

• Latino Faculty in American higher education at 4%

• Minority Faculty remain underrepresented in CCCU schools at 6.5% (Laney and Daniels, 2006)

• Total Biola Minority Faculty is currently at 15%

• Biola Latino Faculty is currently at 5%

• Recruitment and Retention concerns must be attended to

Future Opportunities

Faith Opportunities

• 93% of Latinos identify as Christians

• 70% of Latinos identify as Roman Catholic

• 23% of Latinos identify as Protestant (8.1 million)

• The numbers of Latino Roman Catholics drops from 74% amongst first generation to 72 and 62 percent for second and third generation

Faith Opportunities

• There are 12.2 million (37 percent)Latino “born-again” Christians in the United States, of whom 9.2 million are Pentecostalor Charismatic

Educational Opportunities

• Total minority enrollment in higher education has increased from 15% in 1976 to 32% in 2007 with the greatest growth due to Hispanics

• Hispanic enrollment in higher education is up from 4%in 1976 to 11.4% in 2007

Educational Opportunities

• High School graduation rates for Hispanics in California will increase from 35% in 2003 to a projected 45% in 2014

• Overall, minority students will account for virtually all the growth in high school graduation rates over the next 10 years

How will we respond to the challenges and opportunities presented by the increasing

Latino student population?

Sources• http://chronicle.com/premium/stats/race/2007/index.php• http://www.hacu.net/hacu/HSI_Fact_Sheet_EN.asp?SnID=360748087• http://latinostudies.nd.edu/pubs/pubs/HispChurchesEnglishWEB.pdf• http://www.nd.edu/~latino/• www.nces• http://professionals.collegeboard.com/policy-advocacy/diversity/minority• www.quickfacts.census.gov• http://www.wiche.edu/info/knocking/1992-2022/080319NationalPressClub.pdf• Laney, M., & Daniels, D., A Seat At the Table: Increasing Faculty Diversity on

CCCU Campuses, Presentation, CCCU International Forum, April 2006, Dallas, TX.• Menjares et al (2008). Expanding Access Task Force Report, Biola University. • Turner, C., Gonzáles, J., & Woods, J., (2008). Faculty of Color in Academe: What

20 Years of Literature Tells Us, Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, Vol. 1(3), Sep. 2008, 139-168.

Contact Information

Pete C. Menjares, Ph.D.Associate Provost for Diversity LeadershipBiola University13800 Biola Ave.La Mirada, CA 90639(562) 906-4544pete.menjares@biola.edu