University Plans New Approach for Recruitment Outreach to Increase Hispanic Students
One day, one in four faces may be Hispanic on the University of Arizona campus.

TUCSON (By Becky Pallack, Inside Tucson Business) September 1, 2007 — Although more than one third of Tucson's residents are Hispanic, the University of Arizona student body is just 14 percent Hispanic. President Peter Likins would like to change that.

University of Arizona administrators want to double the number of Hispanic students in its student body to better match local demographics.

University President Peter Likins's recently announced goal to make the University of Arizona a Hispanic serving institution means the administration has to recruit and retain a 25 percent Hispanic student population.

Two new administrators will write a plan to boost the number of Hispanic students who enroll at UA, Likins said. They are Patti Ota, the new vice president for enrollment management, and Edie Auslander, the new vice president for diversity.

Early ideas include better outreach efforts, including more Spanish-speaking recruiters and college counseling that starts at middle schools.

"The UA serves a region and a state that has a significant Hispanic population. The right thing for us to do is to better serve that population," Ota said.

Hispanics represent 36 percent of Tucson’s population and of those, 35 percent are under the age of 18.

Currently, the campus doesn't look like the rest of the state, or even like Tucson. Demographic numbers show most Hispanic students skipping the college path.

Just having a goal to recruit more minorities has some on campus talking about the best way to attract the underserved population. Most agree that recruiters have to reach students and their parents as early as possible to encourage them to see higher education as a job path and a legitimate option.

Orlando Salinas, a junior business and marketing major from Chicago, called the goal "exciting" and said UA students want to help more young Hispanics become interested in higher education. Salinas co-chairs the local chapter of Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan, which is a nationwide movement to encourage self-determination among Hispanic youth in order to develop equality in socioeconomic status.

"Hopefully we can get some action going with actual backing from the university to go out and visit the schools to do face-to-face outreach," he said. "That's going to be the most effective method. When students see Hispanic students in college, that's the best way to get them motivated."

Salinas has a serious appreciation for his own higher education experience and plans to pass it on by recruiting local students to UA.

Salinas, who has a 13-year-old brother and more than a dozen high school-aged cousins, said, "I tell them, 'If you want to succeed, you have to learn why things are the way they are, learn about history. When you go to school, you make better decisions in life.’"

Another student said she wished she'd had a mentor or tutor early in her school career, telling her how to get ready for college.

"I knew if I wanted to get ahead in the world and give back to the community, I would need a solid educational experience. I always had it in my mind that I could go to college," said Claudia Ruiz, a first year graduate student at the UA who is studying biosciences.

Ruiz transferred to UA from Pima Community College, which already is a Hispanic Serving Institution. She said there is some culture shock associated with joining a predominantly white student body.

"There wasn't a good chance to interact with other Hispanic students," she said. "You learn to see past that. It comes down to what you want to accomplish."

More scholarships will be needed to recruit Hispanic students, said Oscar Lujan, executive director of the UA Hispanic Alumni Association. The group offers 90 tuition scholarships.

"Students have this idea that if they don't get a scholarship, they can't go to college," Lujan said.

Paying for college can be hard on Hispanic families. The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities reports one of every four people living in poverty in the United States is Hispanic. Lujan encourages students to take advantage of higher education even if they have debt when they leave college.

Recruiters should tell students early about scholarship opportunities, but they should also tell another group that has influence on Hispanic students' choices--their parents.

"Parents have to start telling their kids in elementary school, 'You're going to college and the first step is graduating high school,'" Lujan said.

Ota said the first steps in drawing in more Hispanic students include inviting parents and students to tour the campus and talk with recruiters who know the language and the culture. Currently, the admissions’ office employs two Spanish-speaking faculty members as recruiters through the Minority Student Recruitment Office.

Ota said parents and students will be better prepared for college if they understand early on the price of higher education and forms of available financial aid, and admissions criteria. It costs $14,000 a year to attend the UA, including tuition, fees, books, dorm rent, food, travel, and other costs.

Ota added that the campus climate should shift to better accommodate the Hispanic culture and make the campus comfortable for all cultures.

Currently, the university offers The Chicano-Hispano Center, a place for students to seek advising and social-cultural opportunities.

It also partners with Tucson Unified School District and others in a federal program called Gear Up, which targets first-generation college students in low socio-economic classes. The program sponsors mentors, tutors, testing workshops and academic competitions.