IHEP president Jamie P. Merisotis says the study makes a case for the need to bring to the fore issues related to immigrants in the national dialogue about higher education.
“By 2020, there will be 14 million more skilled jobs that require at least some college education in the United States than people to fill them,” he says. “By investing now at the institutional and government policy levels to improve access and success for immigrants, we will see enormous economic and social benefits for the nation.”
Erisman adds that college preparedness depends a lot on the primary and secondary schooling of the region of origin of the immigrant. Many African and Asian immigrants already have high school diplomas and are proficient in English, whereas immigrants from Latin America may not be as qualified.
“The timing of immigration is also important,” Erisman says. “Teenagers move to this country at a crucial time and look at what kind of challenges they have to face.”
— By Shilpa Banerji
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