Hispanics feel discriminated against in US universities and consider leaving

Hispanics who pursue tertiary and university studies in USA They face greater challenges than other groups to continue their higher education, including taking care of children or adults in their family.

A quarter of them also feel more discriminated against than other ethnic groups, harassed, physically and mentally insecure and that they have been disrespected, according to a study by Gallup and Lumina Foundation released on Wednesday.

The analysis, based on a survey carried out in November 2022, reveals that the Hispanics It is the group that most considers abandoning their studies.

“We are going to have to start addressing these challenges that we see that these students tell us they are facing,” said Zach Hrynowski, a Gallup researcher specializing in education issues. “It is very important that if there is students who enroll in programs, let’s do as much as we can to get them to complete the program, because if they don’t, their situation could be worse than before they enrolled.”he said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press.

More than half of Hispanic students (52%) considered leaving their university studies or certification academies at least temporarily in 2022, an increase of 10 percentage points compared to 2020 and eight compared to 2021, according to the report “The state of higher education 2023.”

Asian students follow well behind, with 38%; blacks, with 34%, and whites, with 33%.

Those who do not finish their studies have to pay the costs anyway and that impacts their financial situation even if they have not received any diploma nor can they benefit from what they are paying.

On average, college graduates earn nearly a million dollars more over their working years than adults without a degree, according to the Gallup and U.S. study “Education for What?” Lumina.

The enrollment of Hispanics in educational institutions higher education has grown exponentially over the past two decades, from 1.5 million students in 2000 to 2.8 million in 2019, a reflection of the rapid growth of this group in the US population, according to the Pew Research Center.

About 63.7 million Hispanics live in the United States, the fastest growing minority in the country, according to information from the 2022 Census Bureau.

Hispanics are the ones who most mentioned having to care for an adult or a child among their responsibilities, which would help explain at least partially why more of them consider dropping out of school, according to Gallup’s analysis.

Almost half of them (47%) said they cared for other people or were parents, 13% indicated they considered leaving their studies because they had childcare responsibilities and 14% because they had to care for an adult in the family. or to a friend.

Added to this is the discriminationas another possible reason.

One in four Hispanic students pursuing tertiary or university studies said they “frequently” or at least “occasionally” experienced discrimination, harassment, or physical and psychological insecurity at the institutions where they pursue their studies, a rate higher than that of other races. or ethnicities, according to the study. These types of feelings were reported mainly by the group of Hispanics who were pursuing short-term studies, such as technical and industrial certifications offered by public universities and other educational institutions. higher education.

“This is a very important challenge for Hispanic students,” Hrynowski explained. “They are twice as likely as students who have not had those negative experiences in their program to say they are considered dropouts.”