Author: Rose M. Payan,  Richard E. Peterson,  Nancy A. Castille

Published: 1984

This article is based on a 1982 survey of Hispanic higher education enrollment and related practices and issues. Addressed to financial aid officers in five southwestern states, it was a replication of a similar study carried out in 1972. In addition to presenting comparable results from the two surveys, the article reviews recent literature, comments on critical issues in Hispanic access, and outlines a number of implications from the study for expanding access to college for Hispanic youth. The most striking finding is that while Mexican-American enrollment in higher education in the Southwest nearly doubled during the 1970s, their numbers, as a percentage of total enrollment, increased by only 1 percent-from 10 to 11 percent. When compared to their proportion in the total population-17 percent in 1972, 20 percent in 1983-the magnitude of their under representation, which increased during the decade, becomes clear.