America faces a serious challenge: the looming surge in Latino college enrollment. Latinos are now the largest minority in the United States, accounting for 12 percent of the population. Yet their presence is scarce in higher education, just 1.7 percent of first-time, full-time students in American public universities in 1998 are Latino.
Because of the evolving demographics, Latinos will make up an increasingly greater percentage of prospective and potential applicants to higher education programs. Will postsecondary institutions be ready for this wave? Can the community colleges accommodate it, and if not, what steps should four-year institutions take? And how can Latinos themselves increase their presence in higher education? Ultimately, it is not enough for Latinos to attend the colleges. They must also become part of the colleges. Will distance learning boost their enrollment in graduate programs? How can they increase their numbers among faculty and administrators?
The answers to these questions will affect our whole society, and Latinos in Higher Education addresses those questions. The volume has three main sections: Demographics and Demand, The Crossover to College, and Rising in Academia. The first section focuses on the growing Latino demand for higher education in this country. The second examines the means of getting Latinos over the gap between high school and college. And the third treats routes to careers as faculty and administrators. Like most major phenomena, the issue of Latinos in US education has many facets, and each chapter explores and illuminates a new one.