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Calculated Risk shares great data and graphic regarding the correlation between unemployment and education. No surprises here. Go get a college degree.

Another great article by Lorelle L. Espinosa, director of policy and strategic initiatives at the Institute for Higher Education Policy, regarding what colleges and universities are responsible for graduating minority students in STEM fields. Dr. Espinosa makes an excellent point that a significant  representation of minorities in STEM careers will not occur until ALL institutions make a commitment to graduating more minorities in these fields. Good read.

Came across this great study conducted by The Education Trust showing positive movement in the number of minority group graduation rates between 2002-2007. You can check out the complete report here but some highlights a telling graph below.

Ohio State University and Florida State University, have been recognized for model programs that boost retention and graduation rates among underrepresented populations.

Twenty-five percent of “gainers” improved by 10 percentage points or more, and 10 percent increased by 15 points or more. Among the top gainers, the graduation rates for minority students rose upwards of 20 points in five years.

Last month I discussed how Hispanics taking AP classes for college credit was on the rise. While work remained, overall Hispanics have been making impressive gains in obtaining college credit while still in high school. Today, another indication that this a postive trend with New Mexico’s class of 2009 leading the nation in the percentage of Hispanic students who earned a score of 3-5 on at least one Advanced Placement exam. More stats on their success after the jump. Way to go New Mexico – thanks for leading the way!

Just wanted to praise the work of The College of Mount St. Vincent in being ranked first in the nation for graduating Hispanics in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) degrees. A copy of the study, funded by the National Science Foundation, can be found here. Mount St. Vincent was first among the 25 institutions in the nation identified as exemplary models. Thank you for your efforts!

Earlier in the week, Newsweek ran an article regarding the progress of minority college graduation rates. The article provides a good statistical and illustrative overview of challenges faced by some colleges and universities attempting to boost their minority enrollment and graduation rates. While it would be easy to pick apart some of the broad generalities discussed in the article, Newsweek does a good job of highlighting some of the high level barriers and issues associated with trying to keep minority candidates progressing through the college academic pipeline. And while debates can be had to determine why some colleges do better than others (some of which are discussed in the article), I think there are several commonalities associated with colleges and universities that successfully graduate minority college students. This is not an issue without solution.

First is focus and awareness. Colleges and universities that have higher minority graduation rates are simply paying more attention to it and employ initiatives to get it done. Incorporating minority graduation metrics into an overall strategic plan is part of what these colleges and universities do to assure success at an institutional level. Read more…

The Los Angeles Times has an excellent article today discussing the increasing number of Hispanics that are moving away to attend college. This is quite a noteworthy article considering that many still hold on to the stereotype that Hispanics will not move to another city for school or work. When I tweeted about the article today, I was please to see a large number of Hispanics out there that shared how they indeed had moved to Dallas, Austin, New York, Florida, California and other states to attend school. I moved from California to Texas to attend college. And while there are still definite cultural and social factors that challenge potential Hispanic college students to attend school somewhere else, it’s not only due to ”being away from family.” As the article notes, much of the decision to stay or be near “home” is based on economics. As noted many times via this blog, the great majority of Hispanic college students work and attend school – like me - working themselves through college. Many are not on financial aid, hence living at home not only becomes a necessity but a no brainer decision. And afterall, what’s wrong with having family support while working on a degree? Not to mention mom’s great food. ; )

Excelencia in Education continues its tremendous work with a study regarding emerging Hispanic Serving Institutions - or HSIs. If you’re not familiar with the term, HSIs are colleges or universities where total Hispanic enrollment constitutes a minimum of 25% of the total enrollment. According to Hispanic Association of Universities and Colleges (HACU) one of every two Hispanic attends an HSI. This study is another indicator providing evidence of the increasing number of Hispanic students attending college. Based on the study’s analysis, there are 176 emerging HSIs. These are institutions where Hispanic undergraduate full-time equivalent (FTE) enrollment is somewhere between 15 and 24 percent. Additionally, these emerging HSI schools are located in 20 states. One area of concern I see in the study’s results is the high concentration of emerging HSI schools that are community colleges (44%). With transfer rates from community to 4 year colleges low and needing to improve, more work and investment needs to be done to assure community college students (many of which are Hispanic) have the support to make that successful transition. I encourage you to review the whole report.

Update: Diverse Issues in Higher Education also has an excellent write up on the study.

What’s the future hold for college recruiting? Kevin Wheeler provides a great list of 40 factors that he sees in the future. While most of Kevin’s great list is linked to incorporating online technologies, I think there is also an opportunity in the college recruiting industry to change the paradigm in another way. This includes changing the “one size fits all” recruitment strategy (or paradigm) to one that integrates and appreciates the complexity of the diverse workforce. Much like consumer-centered models are designed to target a diverse population, college recruitment strategies can mirror this same approach. Why should diverse and inclusive strategies wait until employees enter the organization?

Over the last few months there have been more and more articles like the one in the WSJ today asking — really, what is a college degree worth? Enough with this tired and ridiculous argument – yes, it’s worth it. Go get yourself one.

Update: Someone agrees with me — but much more eloquently! : )