The Progress of Latinos in Higher Education

Although the United States is touted as a country where anyone could be successful regardless of social class or national background, upward social mobility is hard to attain. Latinos in particular are a population that can contribute significantly to increasing U.S attainment social mobility rates. By 2065, it is projected that nearly one in four U.S. residents will be Latino, up from nearly one in five in 2015. However, only 23 percent of Latinos over the age of 25 have earned an associate’s degree or higher – the lowest rate among any racial and ethnic group currently reported. By comparison, white adults in the same age group are twice as likely to have at least an associate’s degree. As the second largest population group in the United States, increasing Latino student college completion is essential to increasing the attainment rates. Not implementing systemic change will only amplify existing gaps and leave the workforce, and the nation, shorthanded. This report draws some strategies to make progress for Latinos in higher education.