By Jennifer Gonzalez
To increase the number of Latino students with degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, a new report recommends that community colleges improve student-transfer access to programs in those disciplines, known as the STEM fields, at Hispanic-serving institutions.
Because community colleges educate nearly 60 percent of all Latino students in this country, the report concludes that strengthening transfer access is the best way to ensure that Latino students complete bachelor's degrees in the STEM fields.
The report, "Improving Transfer Access to STEM Bachelor's Degrees at Hispanic-Serving Institutions through the America Competes Act," is the latest of a series prepared by the University of Southern California's Center for Urban Education.
Alicia C. Dowd, one of the report's authors, said one of the main reasons Latino students are not transferring to four-year institutions is their high placement rate in remedial math courses. And once they are placed in those courses it is difficult for them to move on to transfer-level math