ABSTRACT
Almost 50 percent of all undergraduates in the United States are enrolled in community colleges (American Association of Community Colleges, 2016). These open access institutions are often seen as the gateway to higher education for many families in the U.S. This is especially so for the growing Latino population. Nearly half of all Latinos who go to college attend a public two-year school, the highest share of any race or ethnicity (Manuel Krogstad, 2014a). They are now the largest minority group on U.S. college campuses and yet a bachelor’s degree still remains an elusive goal for many in the Latino community (Manuel Krogstad, 2014a, b). Only “15.2 percent of Hispanics have at least a bachelor’s degree as of 2014, compared to 35.6 percent for non-Hispanic whites” (2016 Fact Sheet Hispanic Higher Education and HSIs, 2016). The U.S. Latino population is projected to grow by 86 percent between 2015 and 2050, and is expected to account for 119 million U.S. citizens by 2060 (Manuel Krogstad, 2014). The ability for Latinos to effectively access, navigate, and graduate from higher education institutions will ultimately impact the economic and democratic future of the nation. Due to the large growth of the Latino population in the U.S., Hispanic Serving Institutions have emerged.
