NOTEBOOK: Higher education report highlights our growing diversity
JOE GARDYASZ Jul 7, 2016 | 9:03 pm
<1 min read time
0 wordsBusiness Record Insider, The Insider NotebookA new report from Iowa College Aid provides some eye-opening numbers about the increasing diversity of our state and the challenges ahead in providing opportunities for all students to prepare for college. That report, “The 2016 Condition of Higher Education in Iowa,” found that only about one-third of Iowa high school graduates are prepared for college, with lower rates among minority and low-income students.
A fact I found particularly noteworthy is that minority students now make up 22 percent of the student body in Iowa’s public schools, up from 10 percent in 2001. While all minority groups saw increases in the past 15 years, the Hispanic population increased the most, from 4 percent of the student body in 2000-01 to 10 percent in 2014-15.
The report also found significant in the educational attainment of minorities in Iowa. Currently, 44 percent of black and 64 percent of Hispanic Iowans over 25 have not completed any education or training beyond high school. And only 12 percent of black and 9 percent of Hispanic Iowans have bachelor’s degrees as their highest degree attained. It’s projected that 21 percent of jobs in Iowa will require a bachelor degree by 2025.
In the next decade, the number of minority students will continue to grow. Between the 2013-14 and 2023-24 academic years, the percentage increase in the number of Iowa public high school graduates is projected to be 42 percent for Asian students, 60 percent for black students and 83 percent for Hispanic students.
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