This study examined the demographic characteristics of a sample of Hispanic students enrolled at a Southwestern university. In connection with these data, the analysis proceeded to delineate the relationship between some selected personal characteristics and the reasons that influenced their decision to enroll in higher education. It was found that Hispanic students that come to the university directly from high school and those that transfer from community colleges were very similar demographically, linguistically and academically speaking. Moreover, the reasons that influenced their decision to continue their education at the university level were identical. Those were: (1) Training in your career interest. (2) Overall training. (3) Quality of course instruction. (4) Professional competence of professors. (5) Expense of the institution. (6) Intellectual stimulation provided by climate. At a deeper level, there were four main factors that underlied the dimensions for their reasons to enroll in higher education. Those were: Factor I "Democratic environment and facilities", Factor II "Internal and external cultural features", Factor III "Academic quality of the institution" and Factor IV "Social life of the institution." The statistical results of whether there were sex, socio-economic and language differences with the four factors, showed that the interaction of sex and language background of the respondent had an effect on "Democratic environment and facilities." The effects of socio-economic index and the language spoken at home were found significant on "Internal and external cultural features." The best predictor for the four factors was the socio-economic index. Based on these results, it is recommended that research efforts be expanded to Hispanics in other geographical areas, other levels within higher education and to students of other ethnic groups.

The purpose of this study was to identify and understand Hispanic students' perceptions of the influences on their success at a community college. Using a qualitative design, six students were interviewed in depth in order to gain insight and perspective of their educational experience at the community college. The investigation explored each student's decision to enroll at the community college and sought to describe factors that the participants identified as having impacted their experiences at the community college, including their perceptions of themselves and their families. The study also explored the programs and practices that are in place in the community college that may influence these students' academic success. Finally, the relationship between the Hispanic students' perceptions about their academic successes and the community college's employees' perceptions were examined. Tinto's (1975) model of student integration theory provided the theoretical framework for data collection and analysis. The major analytical categories that were developed during data analysis were as follows : other academic experiences ; motivation to succeed, both internal and external ; issues of ethnicity ; issues of age ; and issues of family. The students' perceptions of their community college experiences were both positive and critical. / by Karin Lynn St. Pierre. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2011. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2011. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

The purpose of this study was to examine the expectations of African American and Hispanic males in a for-profit university (TTU). This study specifically explored student perception of the retention efforts of faculty, staff, policies, procedures and services within the institutional environment. It further examined how these experiences promoted or impeded the African American or Hispanic male's persistence to graduation. The higher education institution is identified as TTU throughout this study. It is a commuter university established in the early 1900s. A qualitative case study approach was used and two campus sites were selected. Data collection included interviews of 19 students, along with 2 faculty (identified by students), as well as document analysis, and various on site observations at each campus. The data were then transcribed, coded, and analyzed to ascertain the overall views and perceptions of the participants. / by Carole Comarcho. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2009. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2009. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Latinos are the largest and most rapidly growing ethnic minority in the United States, and they have the highest dropout rates of any major ethnic group in the country (U.S. Department of Labor, 2003). Latinos' educational attainment is consistently lower than that of other students (Gandara, 2008). The majority of Latino college students in the state of Oregon are of Mexican origin and have parents with low income and low levels of education, which ultimately influences the students' decisions in whether or not to pursue higher education. This study examines these and other factors which motivate Latino students to pursue higher education in selected colleges in the state of Oregon. Quantitative data was gathered and evaluated to determine their academic self-efficacy, an idea grounded in Social Cognitive Theory (Bandura 1997). Accordingly, this dissertation analyzed personal, environmental, and demographic factors as determinants of the academic self-efficacy of Latino college students. The results indicated that mothers (family being one of the environmental factors) were the most motivating persons for Latino college students pursuing higher education, followed by the influence of friends. The results also revealed that another influencing factor in academic self-efficacy of Latino college students was their own self-efficacy and their personal goal orientation. Female students reported the highest scores of self-efficacy for a four-year institution, followed by students of both genders aged between 18 and 22 years old. Latino college students' choice of agriculture as a program to pursue in higher education was also analyzed, despite the fact that the majority (92 %) of Latino college students did not choose an agriculture-related career. / Graduation date: 2012

This study examined the extent and sources of primary revenue for Hispanic-, African-American-, and Caucasian-serving public community colleges in Texas. The study also examined differences between and among primary revenue streams for these institutions. The public community colleges were identified as Hispanic-, African-American-, and Caucasian-serving based upon the percentage of enrollments for each ethnic classification. A comparative model was developed for the primary revenue streams of in-district student tuition, out-of-district student tuition differentials, out-of-state student tuition differentials, ad valorem property tax revenue per in-district contact hour, and state appropriations. Statistical Packages for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was utilized to conduct multiple-factor analysis of variance (ANOVA) on the data set to examine differences between and among the several variables. Post hoc tests were performed where necessary. Difference was identified in in-district student tuition. Post hoc analysis demonstrated that difference existed between Hispanic-serving and African-American-serving community colleges. No difference was identified in the remaining primary revenue streams.

In Texas, Hispanic populations (people of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race) have increased from 6.7 million in 2000 to 7.4 million in 2005, or by approximately 10.5%. This growth trend is expected to continue with estimates that Hispanics will represent approximately 37% of the state's population by 2015. The problem this research addressed is that participation in higher education by Texas Hispanics is not keeping pace with the growth in the Texas Hispanic population. If allowed to continue, the state could be in danger of realizing devastating economic and societal consequences. The present study utilized regression analysis to determine how well four institutional characteristics explained the variance in Hispanic enrollment and graduation percentages of students attending public 4-year institutions in states with prevalent Hispanic populations. Findings indicate that while local Hispanic population is a strong, positive predictor of Hispanic enrollments, it has a negative impact on Hispanic graduation rates. The independent variables of average cost of attendance and average financial aid package are the strongest predictors of Hispanic graduation percentages. Implications for the state of Texas include stress on public 4-year institutions in coping with Hispanic population increases, possible enrollment overflows at the community college level, and need for additional allocations to state and institutional financial aid programs.

This study used qualitative research, particularly life history analysis, to determine the personal pathways of success for Latino students who chose to enter a health science center for graduate study and who graduated. By giving voice to individual success stories of Latino students, some of the influences on the life pathways of these graduates were determined. For the purposes of this study, success was defined as graduation from a health science center with either a doctor of philosophy, doctor of public health or doctor of osteopathic medicine degree. Four research subjects agreed to participate in this study from a possible 11 students from the graduating class of 2004-2005 at this health science center. Data were gathered through multiple in-depth interviews of the students themselves over a period of no more than one month for each participant. Data were analyzed using the mind mapping technique and Padilla's unfolding matrix. Findings indicate that each participant traveled a different pathway to achieve educational success although similarities did exist across participants. The influences of family background, cultural background, educational background and personal perceptions and goals did affect the pathways of these four Latino graduates. While three of four participants indicated that family was the most important influence on their academic success, all participants related the importance of family to their success, although their definitions of family seemed to vary and included the concepts of education, culture, and personal perceptions and goals. The concepts of family support of education and a culture of education within the family unit emerged as similar themes among study participants. Other similarities among participants were a high academic self-concept, a strong internal locus of control, the ability to create academic community, and a positive view of potentially negative situations. Individual themes emerged from the narratives within each category for each participant. The impact of previous studies on student success, using undergraduate models, was reviewed, and one influence was found among the study participants that had not been used in previous models - health. Implications of findings from this study for educational policy, programs, and practice are discussed.

Since the 1980s, selective college admissions has become increasingly competitive. In 2021, for example, Harvard admitted a record-low 3.4 percent of applicants, compared to 18 percent in 1990. Trends at selective public institutions are similar. Concurrently, the role of race in admissions has evolved, as legal challenges, from Regents of the University of California v. Bakke onward, have limited the scope of affirmative action policies. The consideration of race in admissions, once intended to repair historical racial injustices, is now justified by the educational benefits of diversity. The same Supreme Court decisions also promoted the use of holistic review in admissions. These trends have collided in the latest legal challenges to affirmative action policies, which have mobilized Asian Americans as plaintiffs, accusing highly-selective schools of discrimination. Amidst this competitive and contested landscape, the private college consulting industry has grown exponentially. One trade association estimates that the number of independent educational consultants (IECs) in the United States quintupled between 2005 and 2015. Hired primarily by middle- and upper-class families, IECs occupy a unique position. They work intensively one-on-one with students to help manage a complicated process, while also maintaining ties to schools and colleges. They therefore serve as an analytical lens for understanding how broader trends in admissions affect students on the ground. Drawing on research on culture and educational inequality, the history of race in college admissions, and moral boundary-making, I ask how IECs help clients interpret elements of holistic review; how IECs respond to perceived discrimination and questions of racial diversity; and how participants in a system viewed as unequal draw moral boundaries around their work. Through interviews with 50 IECs in New York and California, I first show that IECs’ work makes the processes by which students successfully apply to colleges explicit. In doing so, they shine a light on what I call shadow criteria, or the unstated set of criteria that underlie the official criteria by which colleges judge applicants. Authenticity is one shadow criterion that requires students to translate their existing cultural capital into an application that is attractive to admissions officers – a process that, as I will show, is subject to class-based considerations. Second, IECs view White, Asian American, and underrepresented minority (i.e., Black, Latinx, and Indigenous) students as having different concerns about racial diversity and discrimination, and advise students accordingly. However, addressing these concerns at the individual level can reinforce colleges’ racialized admissions systems and reify stereotypes. Third, the majority of respondents view the overall admissions system either as flawed, or at best with ambivalence. Respondents draw moral boundaries between themselves and bad actors in the profession, legitimating their work and justifying it morally. Through the lens of the independent educational consultant, this dissertation contributes to our understanding of how actors within the college admissions ecosystem respond to competitive pressures. It also provides a greater qualitative understanding of how the growing field of private educational consulting operates.

When students are academically qualified to attend a four-year college or university but instead enroll at a community college, they are considered academically undermatched. Research suggests that Latinx students are more likely to academically undermatch than their peers yet they remain the least likely to complete an upward transfer to a university and earn a baccalaureate degree. The purpose of this study was to explore the enrollment decisions of, and familial influences on, Latinx students who were admitted to a university but who initially enrolled at a community college. Using community cultural wealth and funds of knowledge as theoretical frameworks, I examined the narratives of 13 Latinx students and the parents of five of those students. Nine student participants were female and four were male, ranging from 19 to 31 years old. Parent participants were four females and two males, ranging from 43 to 52 years old. Findings from this study are divided into two parts. Student findings revealed navigating the pathway to college was fraught with limited information, even though students acknowledged they had access to resources and their high school counselors and teachers helped in the college search process. However, students still did not feel that crucial information they wanted or needed was available. Parent findings uncovered how parental aspirations and perceptions of opportunities in the United States served as a foundation for helping students aspire to attend college. Based on these findings, higher education practitioners would do well to use inclusive frameworks, such as community cultural wealth, to create programs that address Latinx students and their families, including providing materials in Spanish. Through use of inclusive frameworks, research on Latinx student college choice continues to elevate the complexities and realities these students encounter. Additionally, policymakers should continue to reevaluate the shifting burden of costs for higher education from taxpayers to students as this impacts college choice and academic undermatch.

This investigation was a post-hoc, quantitative analysis of secondary academic performance and participation choices of Hispanic students. Three years of longitudinal student-level data was collected to examine the likelihood of college enrollment based on college and career readiness (CCR) factors. At the time of the study, CCR was defined as qualifying exam scores, credit for at least two advanced/dual enrollment courses, or enrollment in a career and technology education (CTE) coherent sequence of courses. Research participants (N = 803) consisted solely of Hispanic high school graduates from the 2014 cohort. Frequency statistics indicate 45.5% (n = 365) attended an institute of higher education (IHE) within 2 years of high school graduation. Findings reveal Hispanic females were more likely than Hispanic males to meet CCR indicators as well as postsecondary resiliency outcomes. Analysis of chi-square tests of independence suggests a moderately strong association exists between CCR indicators and postsecondary participation among high school graduates. Differences were found in terms of gender and postsecondary enrollment, x^2(6) = 24.538, p < .001. Differences were also found in terms of type of IHE and postsecondary resiliency, x^2(3) = 34.373, p < .001. More Hispanic CCR graduates enrolled at 2-year and 4-year IHE than expected by chance. While non-CCR graduates enrolled in IHE, they were less likely to meet postsecondary resiliency outcomes. CCR graduates who initially enrolled at 2-year IHE were also less likely to persist. Furthermore, the greatest contribution to differences in resiliency existed for Hispanic CCR graduates who enroll at 4-year IHE.