Industry Insights: Latinos and the Future of Education
Maya Rector • Jun 04, 2020
There’s no denying that industries are shifting and re-thinking how they operate alongside current events and a changing digital landscape - including education. Read more to learn about how Latinos are pursuing higher education, and how distance learning is playing a role in shaping the future of the industry at large.
Latinos and Higher Education
Latinos make up 25%
of school children and will become a third of the US population by 2050. As the U.S. Hispanic population continues to grow, the educational system and higher ed has found itself with a need to adapt in order to find better ways to reach and serve them. Historically, Latinos have not always had access to the same educational opportunities as other groups - but things are starting to change. In the past few decades, Hispanics have made major strides in educational attainment in both higher education and K-12.
For instance, the overall high school dropout rate in the U.S. has fallen dramatically in recent years, and Hispanics have accounted for much of this trend. Hispanics had the highest (34%) dropout rate among racial and ethnic groups in 1999, but that number dropped significantly to 10% by 2016
- while the fall in dropout rates over the same time period have been much less distinct for other groups.
Hispanic immigrants have also been catching up. According to Pew Research data, about a quarter (26%) of recently arrived Latino immigrants ages 25 and older had a bachelor’s degree or more education in 2018 - a significant jump from 10% in 1990. Hispanic immigrants who have completed high school have also seen vast improvements, with 67% in 2018, up from 38% in 1990. Despite these improvements, there is still a long way to go for educational institutions to make their offerings equitable for both U.S. born Hispanics and Hispanic immigrants alike.
Why Reach them?
U.S. Hispanics are actively looking to education to improve their earning potential and economic status, but often are not exposed to institutions who are actively looking to serve them, making them a key demographic to target and reach. For instance, only 17%
of all higher education institutions in the U.S. can be classified as Hispanic-serving, which is defined as an institution that has at least 25% of full-time equivalent students who are Hispanic.
Given the pandemic and economic crisis, the case for attending higher education institutions or going back to school will become all the more important for Hispanics in particular when it comes to their economic recovery. More than 26 million
people have filed for unemployment due to coronavirus-related business closures, and many of these individuals will be thinking about changing career paths or enhancing their skills to become more competitive in a post-Covid world.
While today’s circumstances aren’t exactly the same as the Great Recession, we can look to 2009 rates to predict what future enrollment patterns may look like.The number of Hispanics enrolled in college increased by 1.5 million
throughout the recession and afterwards — a staggering approximate doubling of their pre-recession enrollment levels. For comparison, 13.2 percent of Hispanics ages 15 to 34 enrolled in undergraduate college before the recession, while 20.2 percent of Hispanics enrolled in college after - and they’re onto something - of the 12 million U.S. jobs
that were created after the 2009 recession, over 99% went to individuals with degrees and certificates.
Evidently, Hispanics in the U.S. are increasingly recognizing the value of investing in their education, especially in times of economic uncertainty when it can be a turning point in determining the future of their economic status.
The Shift to Online Learning
A possible silver lining amidst the devastating state of current events lies in its ties to digital transformation and accessibility. For instance, Gaidi Faraj, dean of African Leadership University, spoke on this topic
in a recent interview when she expressed, “An unintended consequence of this pandemic is that high education will become significantly more accessible as universities think about how to move all of their programming online, including counseling, student life, career development, etc.” For many students, traditional learning was out of reach given the high cost of tuition, on-campus housing, textbooks, and more. With increased adoption rates of distance learning, previously underserved students may be more apt to enroll in online school thanks to the convenience and affordability that it can provide.
Prior to COVID-19, high growth and adoption rates for education technology were taking place, with global edtech investments
reaching US$18.66 billion in 2019 and the overall market for online education projected to reach a whopping $350 Billion by 2025. From apps, virtual tutoring, video conferencing tools, online learning software, and more, ed-tech has seen an even bigger surge in usage since the start of the pandemic.
An unintended bonus of online education offerings is that it can also be more effective in a number of instances. Research
has shown that on average, students retain 25-60% more material when learning online compared to only 8-10% in a classroom, primarily due to e-learning requiring 40-60% less time to learn than in a traditional classroom. Much of this is due to e-learning’s ability to provide students with the opportunity to learn at their own pace and tackle concepts as they choose to best suit their learning style.
Takeaway
Hispanics in the U.S. have not always been reached and served effectively by educational institutions - and they’re hungry for change. Given their propensity to seek out educational resources, especially in times of economic uncertainty, the time to engage with Latinos is now.
If institutions would like to attain, retain, and serve the U.S. Hispanic population, Hispanic audiences will need to know that these institutions exist in the first place - and that they are willing to provide more information for them to consider their options. Ultimately, by reaching out to this demographic and sharing information, your educational organization can not not only become more equitable, but it can also reap the benefits for itself too.
For tips on getting started, feel free to check out our beginner’s guide to Hispanic digital marketing
or contact
a representative near you
today.
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