| Blurring the college color line |
By: Corey Butler Jr.
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Posted: Saturday, November 7, 2009 12:16 am
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FARIBAULT — South Central College has made huge strides in student growth the last several years, but it’s not just more white students filling seats or taking online classes.
Using a Minnesota State Colleges and Universities grant of $162,000 to serve underrepresented populations, SCC’s Faribault campus has focused on finding potential students from the Hispanic community, said Linda Beer, SCC dean of student affairs.
“There was a candidate pool of qualified folks who weren’t in higher ed from the Hispanic community,” she said.
Just four years ago, 5.7 percent of SCC’s population — including its North Mankato campus — were students with ethnic backgrounds other than white. Last year, that number was nearly 8 percent, according to SCC director of research and planning Dena Colemer.
That increase came as the SCC’s enrollment increased from 4,823 students to 5,571 during the same time.
“We’ve been making some gains,” SCC President Keith Stover said.
The grant also focuses on low-income and first-generation college students.
Data released this week from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that more students are attending two-year schools than ever, and of those from the October 2008 study, 76 percent were white.
Stover said it’s a positive sign that SCC has been able to make ethnic gains, but said southern Minnesota lacks the diversity that many areas of the country have.
“It’s always difficult if the population doesn’t live here,” he said.
The SCC’s Multicultural Affairs center, which helps minority students on campus, is currently without leadership. Director Bruce Carter was dismissed in August. SCC officials say that changes to the grant that was employing Carter changed and prompted his dismissal and initiated the process of re-hiring the center’s staff.
Colemer agreed with Stover that there are some gains yet to be made.
“We have some room to grow,” she said. “The percentage for our region probably isn’t as ethnically diverse as other areas of the state or nation.”
But that’s why Beer says the grant is so important. It allows staff to spend more time working with and attracting low-income, first-generation or Hispanic students to SCC to get an education.
“We’re very excited,” she said. “There’s really a need.”
— Staff writer Corey Butler Jr. may be reached at 333-3135.
HOW SCC COMPARES ...
BY FULL-TIME ENROLLMENT
Nationally, 58 percent of two-year college students are full time, according to the report released by the U.S. Census Bureau.
In the past four years, SCC records show an increase from 38.5 percent students enrolled full time to 42.8 percent last year.
BY AGE
About 70 percent of two-year students nationwide fall between the ages of 20 and 34. At SCC, the average age is just shy of 30. Nearly 10 percent of SCC’s students are older than 50, according to Colemer.
BY GENDER
According to the report, 57.5 percent of two-year college students in America are women. At SCC, that number has fallen between 52 and 54 percent the last four years. |
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