PBSC named as one of the top colleges for Hispanics
Palm Beach State College has been recognized by The Hispanic Outlook on Education (HO) Magazine as one of the leading community colleges for Hispanics in the United States.
The magazine listed the College as number five on its list of the top 10 4-Year Schools Awarding the Most Associate Degrees to Hispanics in its February special issue on community colleges.
The rankings were based upon data provided by the National Center for Education Statistics. According to the Center, 1,019 Hispanic students graduated from the College with an associate degree in 2015. Hispanics also make up 29% of the student body at Palm Beach State, which has a total enrollment of 47,893.
According to Dr. Peter Barbatis, vice president of student services and enrollment management, Palm Beach State College committed 10 years ago to increasing its number of Latino students and to provide them with the services they would need to succeed.
A college-wide committee with broad institutional representation reviewed existing practices and policies in order to attract Latinos and to enhance support services to address the unique challenges encountered by Latino students. Outreach efforts focused on parents who typically provide guidance to their children in Latino families, and special efforts were made to reduce financial barriers by clearly communicating the availability of financial aid. The College also increased the diversity awareness of its entire staff through training, and began one of the first college ASPIRA clubs in the nation.
“We are very proud of the efforts we have made at Palm Beach State to better serve Hispanic students,” said Barbatis. “Increasing our number of Hispanics students, and in particular those who pursue a STEM career, is key to our current and future workforce.”
Other top colleges on the list were: #1, Miami Dade College; #2 South Texas College; #3, Valencia College; and #4 Broward College.
The Hispanic Outlook on Education magazine is a top information news source and the sole Hispanic educational magazine for the education community. Published monthly, HO covers events, news and ongoing trends that affect our multicultural institutions of the 21st century. To view the issue, go to www.hispanicoutlook.com/february-issue-2017.
As a proud member of the HSI, I am delighted to see this article – number 5! 🙂
4 out of the 5 top colleges were in Florida. That’s something to celebrate!
I am so excited to see Palm Beach State College being recognized for the hard work and dedication of so many that have made Hispanic student success part of their work at the College for many years! Kudos HSI Team! You know who you are and we should be proud of being a part of the catalyst for change that has benefited our community and our students. Who would have thought that our little team put together so many years ago would have made such an impact!
The consistent work paid off! Thank you Dr. Vallejo for your leadership and thank you Susie for driving the team year after year to achieve the HSI goal –ultimately paving the path for PBSC to become recognized as a leading community college HSI!
We should all be proud of our efforts!