November 23rd, 2011
Hispanics represent the fastest-growing population group in the United States. In fact, according to the National Center for Education Statistics’ most recent Projections of Education Statistics, between 2009 and 2020, enrollment in degree-granting institutions is projected to increase 46 percent for students who are Hispanic–compare that to a projected increase of only 1 percent for students who are white.
Judging by those statistics, you might expect to see a high percentage of Hispanics with advanced degrees, but that simply hasn’t been the case. By 2010, only 3.8 percent of Hispanics had obtained an advanced degree, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. By comparison, 10.7 percent of their White counterparts had obtained an advanced degree. You don’t need an degree in math to notice this academic credential chasm.
Increasing the Odds
To bridge the gap, the NSHMBA Foundation (National Society of Hispanic MBAs) has teamed up with colleges and universities across the U.S. to increase the number of Hispanic students completing bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Through the University Partnership Program, the NSHMBA Foundation provides select academic institutions with an expanded pool of qualified Hispanic applicants for graduate business programs. In turn, the participating colleges and universities offer partial- to full-tuition scholarships, fellowships, and assistantships to outstanding Hispanic students.
It is interesting to note that out of Poder 360‘s 2009 list of top MBA programs for Hispanics, only two of the top 10–Yale and Columbia–are among the partner schools of NSHMBA.
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