How are Hispanic/Latino students present in higher education institutions across the nation? Where are the highest numbers of them enrolled? Which colleges and universities grant the most degrees to Hispanics/Latinos?
Each year, Hispanic Outlook answers these questions by drawing on the latest data from the most reliable source – the federal NCES Integrated Post-Secondary Education Data System (IPEDS) - to provide its readers with a unique set of lists on enrollment at 2- and 4-year institutions, and degrees granted by level and field of study. These can be aggregated to present an overall picture of the higher education landscape for Hispanic/Latino students, or consulted to find the specific institutions that serve the highest number of Hispanics/Latinos and the highest percentage of these as a proportion of total numbers.
General Trends
In terms of the overall landscape, the most recent data available – from the 2021-22 academic year – shows several interesting trends among the top 100 institutions that serve the highest number of Hispanics/Latinos:
• Enrollment at 4-year schools was higher than enrollment at 2-year schools. The total number of Hispanic/Latino students enrolled at the top 100 2-year schools was 993,704, while the total number enrolled at the top 100 4-year schools was 1,474,812.
• A large proportion of Hispanic/Latino students are concentrated in a fairly small number of institutions. There were 359,648 Hispanic/Latino students enrolled at the top 20 2-year institutions (with more than 12,600 enrolled at each), representing more than a third (36%) of total enrollment at all 100 2-year institutions. At the same time, there were 591,626 Hispanic/Latino students enrolled at the top 20 4-year schools (with more than 20,100 enrolled at each), representing 40% of total enrollment at all 100 of these schools.
• Hispanic/Latino enrollment numbers overall, for both 2-year and 4-year schools, are lower than they were in the 2020-21 academic year (published last October), which could be due to the continuing impact of the Covid19 pandemic, as well as other factors affecting the higher education sector. Total Hispanic/Latino enrollment at all 100 top 2-year institutions dropped by nearly 74,000 students, while also dropping by 26,506 students at the top 100 4-year schools.
• Most of the top Hispanic/Latino-enrolling institutions are public. All the top 100 2-year institutions in terms of largest Hispanic/Latino enrollment are public; among the top 100 4-year institutions, 84 are public and only 16 are private.
• Hispanic/Latino students make up the majority of the total student body (50% or more) at more than half of the top 100 2-year institutions, but they are the minority (50% or less) at nearly three-quarters of the top 4-year institutions. Among top 100 2-year institutions, Hispanic/Latino students represent more than 75% of all students enrolled at only 5; at 42 schools, they represent between half and three-quarters of all students. At the other half of these institutions, they make up between one-quarter and half of the total at 45 schools, and less than 25% (the minimum threshold for becoming a Hispanic Serving Institution) at 8 schools. Among the top 100 4-year institutions, Hispanics/Latinos represent more than three-quarters of all students at only 7 schools, between half and three-quarters of all students at 22 schools, and between a quarter and half of all students at 40 schools. It is notable that nearly a third (31) of all 4-year institutions listed have less than 25% Hispanic/Latino enrollment.
• At most of the 2- and 4-year institutions listed, there were more Hispanic/Latino women than men enrolled, continuing a notable trend over the past several years. Among the top 100 2-year institutions, only 5 had more Hispanic/Latino men enrolled than women; Among 4-year institutions, only 4 enrolled more Hispanic/Latino men.
• The greatest proportion of top Hispanic/Latino-enrolling 2- and 4-year institutions were in California and Texas. Just over half (56) of top 2-year schools were in California, followed by 13 in Texas and 9 in Illinois; one-third (34) of top 4-year schools were in California, with another 22 in Texas and 17 in Florida.
• Graduate degrees for Hispanic/Latino students are still lagging far behind associate degrees and bachelor’s degrees, with around three times less degrees granted at the Masters level than at the others. The total number of associate degrees granted at all 100 listed institutions was 143,431; total bachelor’s degrees granted were 174,686 and total masters degrees were 50,526.
• A comparison across lists of top 10 degree-awarding institutions in 20 fields of study reveals that the greatest number of degrees conferred to Hispanic/Latino students were in the field of Liberal Arts and Sciences/General Studies and Humanities, followed by Business, Marketing, Management and Related Support Services. In contrast, the smallest number of degrees were obtained by Hispanic/Latino students in the field of Philosophy and Religious Studies.
Specific Institutions
• In 2021-22, the top three 2-year institutions in terms of enrollment of Hispanic/Latino students were the same as the previous year: East Los Angeles College, El Paso Community College and Houston Community College. Those with the highest percentage of Hispanic/Latino students as a proportion of total students also remained the same: Texas Southmost College (94%), Imperial Valley College (90%), Southwest Texas Junior College (87%), and El Paso Community College (85%).
• Among 4-year institutions, the top 3 in terms of Hispanic/Latino enrollment have retained their position since last year: Miami Dade College, Dallas College and Florida International University. The 4-year institutions with a student body primarily composed of Hispanic/Latino students (more than 85%) were Laredo College (97%), South Texas College (95%), The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (91%), and Texas A & M International University (85%).
• Institutions awarding the largest number of associate degrees to Hispanic/Latino students were Miami Dade College, Dallas College and Bakersfield College. In terms of associate degrees awarded to Hispanics/Latinos as a proportion of all Associate Degrees granted, the top schools were Laredo College (98%), South Texas College (96%) and Texas Southmost College (96%).
• The largest number of bachelor’s degrees were awarded to Hispanics/Latinos by Florida International University, the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and California State University – Northridge, which retained their top positions from last year. Likewise, the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and Texas A & M International University again had the largest percentage of these degrees awarded to Hispanic/Latino students (with 94% and 93% of all degrees respectively).
• With regard to master’s degrees, Grand Canyon University, Florida International University and the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley conferred the largest number to Hispanic/Latino students, while Miami Regional University and the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley had the largest proportion of master’s degrees awarded to Hispanics/Latinos (89% and 82% of total master’s degrees, respectively), as they did last year. •
