WASHINGTON – Examining college performance across the range of U.S. higher education, a new study of college graduation data by the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) reveals that Hispanic students graduate at lower rates than their White peers across similarly ranked colleges, from the nation’s least selective to its most selective institutions. Even many federally designated “Hispanic-Serving” Institutions are graduating fewer than 50 percent of their Hispanic students, and, nationally, 51 percent of Hispanic students who begin college finish a bachelor’s degree within six years, compared to 59 percent of White students, according to the new report.

The study, Rising to the Challenge: Raising Hispanic Graduation Rates as a National Priority, reflects the concern held by national policymakers and researchers over academic achievement among the emerging U.S. Hispanic population and the implications for the nation’s future. Study authors Andrew P. Kelly, Kevin Carey, and Mark Schneider concluded that colleges and universities that perform well in graduating their Hispanic students usually have high completion rates across the board. The results suggest that institutional commitment to college completion drives higher graduation rates for all students, including minorities.  

When the study’s researchers investigated graduation rates among similarly selective colleges and universities, they found significant variation in Hispanic graduation rates, indicating that, though student background is important, institutional practices also play a role.

“This data shows quite clearly that colleges and universities cannot place all of the blame on students for failing to graduate,”  according to a statement by Kelly, a research fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. “Colleges struggling to graduate their Hispanic students should learn from the successes of leaders like Whittier College, which has successfully closed the gap between its Hispanic and White students.”