Untapped Potential
Students work throughout their practices with RDHAPs (registered dental hygienists in alternative practice). Photo by Zaydee Sanchez for palabra
Community colleges are increasingly offering a more affordable alternative for Latino students when it comes to getting a bachelor’s degree
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Even though Cinthia B. Montas arrived in the U.S. from the Dominican Republic in 2007 speaking no English, she acclimated well to her new country. Montas graduated from high school, and then went to Miami Dade College, where she completed ESOL (English For Speakers of Other Languages) coursework and earned two associate’s degrees, plus, in 2020, a bachelor’s in science with a focus on biopharmaceutical studies.
Montas is in a dual degree program and expects to graduate next summer with a bachelor’s in applied health science with a concentration in physician assistant studies and a master’s in health science as part of a program with Nova Southeastern University.
“I think community colleges are beneficial to Latinos because they give us a starting point (for a) great education, they allow us to merge into a diverse community giving us a sense of belonging, they offer flexible schedules, and they allow us a closer commute, and also the affordability,” Montas, who is 29, told palabra. Classes are smaller, while there are greater opportunities to engage with professors, she said.
Here’s another benefit: Community colleges are increasingly starting to offer bachelor’s degrees, which often has a significant impact on their heavily Latino student population – nearly 27% of community college enrollment comprises Latino students. Miami Dade has been a pioneer in this regard, having inaugurated such programs nearly decades ago.
Although community colleges were originally planned to offer two-year associate’s degrees, a growing number are also offering bachelor’s programs as a lower cost option compared to traditional four-year colleges and universities.
West Los Angeles College, Dean of Academic Affairs, Carmen Dones. Photo by Zaydee Sanchez for palabra
It costs a lot less to get a bachelor’s degree from a community college compared to the much higher price tag from a private university (and even some of the traditional public four-year universities), which can range into the hundreds of thousands by the time a student finishes their degree.
"Many underrepresented students who don't have the means to pay high university costs go to community colleges — which is an absolute equity issue,” Carmen Dones, Dean of Academic Affairs at West Los Angeles College, told palabra. “Now that community colleges can offer baccalaureate degrees, it's a game changer for students.”
Like at West LA, tuition at Miami Dade is under $20,000 a year.
“We’re very focused on affordability,” said Miami Dade Executive Vice President and Provost Malou Harrison. “The mantra we stand by is not just affordability, but seeing to that we’re limiting debt to the greatest degree for our students, whether an associate’s degree or baccalaureate program.” Harrison said in an email that only 3% of all students enrolled in the previous academic year took out federal student loans, receiving an average of $6,400.
There are currently 157 institutions in 24 states with community colleges that offer four-year degrees, and the number is growing, as is the number of Latino students taking advantage of that option.
Of the students attending community colleges that offer associate’s degrees, 22.4% were Latino as of the fall of 2022, according to the National Student Clearinghouse; among those at community colleges offering bachelor’s or baccalaureate degrees, it’s 30.8%. The number of Latinos attending community colleges, whether it’s a two- or four-year institution, is over 1.2 million nationwide.
Bahe Sargsian is entering his senior year of the dental hygiene program at West Los Angeles College. Photo by Zaydee Sanchez for palabra.
“States having the largest representation of Latinos, such as California, have a very robust community college system infrastructure,” said Deborah Santiago, co-founder and CEO of the nonprofit Excelencia in Education. “Florida also has a robust community college system. So does Texas.”
Across the country, Latino students are finding educational possibilities through about 600 bachelor’s programs at community colleges. Programs generally consist of students obtaining an associate’s degree from a community college, then staying for a more specialized bachelor’s program.
“Additional states are coming on every year,” Dones said. “It’s a huge movement, mostly because students — many students — can’t go off to college. They’re at home taking care of family, the older or younger generation…Being able to stay home is a benefit for the student.”
In a follow-up comment, she reflected, “With the majority of students attending community college being students of color and first-generation college students, they tend to have strong family ties,” adding that with baccalaureate programs at community colleges, such students can continue to live with or near their family while pursuing an education.
“The reality is, community colleges are very hospitable to Latino students,” Santiago added. “For many Latinos, the conversation is about where they can continue to work, live at home, and go to school.”
Students at West Los Angeles College practice high-power instrumentation on models before working with patients. Photo by Zaydee Sanchez for palabra
The City University of New York (CUNY) system has a unique situation. The historic institution was founded in 1847 as the first public institution in the young nation to offer a free education. Today it serves about 243,000 students. CUNY includes seven community colleges where students wishing to further their education beyond an associate’s degree can transfer to a four-year college within the system, such as Lehman College or the flagship Hunter College. CUNY also offers transfer programs to the Ivy League, namely the hometown Columbia University.
“We have worked with a number of CUNY-wide initiatives that our chancellor has promoted,” said Daisy Cocco De Filippis, president of Hostos Community College in the Bronx, where more than 50% of the students are Latino. “It’s really beneficial.”
Almost two-thirds of community college students at Hostos–72% – take the transfer path to a baccalaureate program.
Some community colleges have bachelor’s programs for certain majors and transfer options for others, while others consider that the bachelor’s degree from a community college would be more feasible than transferring.
‘Most community colleges are interested in helping students continue their education, get a degree.’
“We at community colleges believe in all pathways for the baccalaureate degree,” said Angela M. Kersenbrock, president of the Community College Baccalaureate Association. “Transfer pathways are really, really important. You never want to diminish those. They’re working great, really great, for a lot of students.” However, she added, “what you find, though, is they’re not for everybody. They’re not a pathway for everyone. Take a student in college for the first time, first-generation, who may be older, may be financially strapped, all of the things you would call a high-risk student.” For such a student, a community college bachelor’s could work better, as the transfer process might be arduous — “two hoops instead of one,” Kersenbrock said — and at the end, the four-year college might not accept all of the applicant’s community college credits.
The West LA dental hygiene program has been in existence since 1972. More recently, a number of factors, including changing workplace requirements, prompted the school to seek a baccalaureate program in that field. In 2014, West LA applied for membership in a pilot program for California community colleges seeking to offer a baccalaureate or bachelor’s degree. From an original pool of over 30 colleges, 15 ultimately made the cut – including West LA, which is a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) where 53% of the student body identifies as Latino. (Miami Dade and CUNY are HSIs as well.) Some community colleges look at demand for particular jobs, which is exactly what West LA did when it requested to create a dental hygiene program based not only on student input, but employer demand as well. In 2016, West LA admitted its first class to that program among the others the school offers. Since then, over 200 students have graduated from the dental hygiene program.
Lesly Ramos Rangel is a graduate of the dental hygiene program at West Los Angeles College in Los Angeles. Photo by Zaydee Sanchez for palabra
One recent alumna is Lesly Ramos Rangel. When Ramos Rangel worked in a free dental clinic in Simi Valley, Calif. she saw the need for such services in the local Latino community.
“A big portion of patients we cared for were Hispanic-based,” she said. “Once I was able to start treating people at that clinic, in particular, I started to realize what I was meant to do.”
Ramos Rangel’s knowledge of Spanish helped break through the language barrier that Spanish-speaking patients can face in accessing dental care, increasing her interest in the field as a career path.
Ramos Rangel described her class at West LA as “very diverse. There were a lot of Hispanic women, not necessarily just (from) Mexico, but people coming from other parts — Nicaragua, El Salvador. Being around people of different areas allowed me to also learn from their culture.”
According to a recent report from California on the state’s community college baccalaureate programs, between 26% and 30% of enrollees in these programs are Latino. That’s similar to the 24.8% of enrollees in such programs in Florida, and much more than the 9.8% reported for Washington state.
“I think the community college baccalaureate is a really viable strategy — one strategy in a constellation, but a viable strategy — to improve baccalaureate attainment rates for those who have been historically excluded,” Kersenbrock told palabra.
The dental hygiene program at West Los Angeles College. Photo by Zaydee Sanchez for palabra
In August, Joemichael Alvarez will graduate from Miami Dade with a bachelor’s in data analytics. He comes from a Cuban family and grew up in Miami. After getting an associate’s in computer information systems from Miami Dade, he decided to get a bachelor’s in a separate computer-related field. Among the opportunities it’s helped him achieve is an internship with the aerospace company Boeing.
Asked about his options had such a program not existed, Alvarez said, “Honestly, it would kind of be limited.” He mentioned computer science programs, but added that they are more focused on “theory, not on practice, not anywhere near the same amount of skills I’ve attained going into the job market coming out of the program I am in now.”
When it comes to its bachelor’s programs overall, students “continue to have great interest,” said Harrison, executive vice president and provost at Miami Dade, where 75% is Latino. “Some of our bachelor’s programs are more sought after than others.” She added that in general, these programs have a “very close association to business and industry.”
One unique option for students at Miami Dade is to take ESOL classes that also serve as credits for other fields of study, including logistics and nursing.
“These immigrants and new Americans learn English and get a credential at the same time,” Harrison said, adding, “They go to work more immediately than if they had simply taken an English-language course. A bachelor’s degree is tremendously important.”
In general, “The earning power of a bachelor’s degree way outstrips one year (of college), two years, high school,” said Kersenbrock. “The workforce is evolving. (Baccalaureate) programs ready people to enter the workforce…We’re not educating people to stay in poverty. In 2023, to do this (enter the workforce), you need a bachelor’s degree.”
“I think there’s a lot of untapped potential,” added Santiago. “Look at the institutions where Latinos go…There are community colleges offering baccalaureate degrees in response to student needs, or there are institutions that want to offer baccalaureate degrees in order to get more resources, contribute to a student’s education, move up in the field of higher ed. I would say most community colleges are interested in helping students continue their education, get a degree.”
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Rich Tenorio is a writer and editor whose work has appeared in international, national, regional, and local media outlets. He is a graduate of Harvard College and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. He is also a cartoonist.
Zaydee Sanchez is a Mexican American visual storyteller, documentary photographer, and writer from Tulare, California, in the San Joaquin Valley. She seeks to highlight underreported communities and overlooked narratives, with a focus on labor, gender, and displacement. Zaydee is an International Women's Media Foundation grantee and a 2021 USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism Fellow. Her work has been published in Al Jazeera, National Geographic, NPR, among others. She lives in Los Angeles.
Patricia Guadalupe, raised in Puerto Rico, is a bilingual multimedia journalist based in Washington, D.C. She has been covering the capital for both English and Spanish-language media outlets since the mid- 1990s. She previously worked as a reporter in New York City. She’s been an editor at Hispanic Link News Service (where she still writes political news), a reporter at WTOP Radio (CBS Washington affiliate), a contributing reporter for CBS Radio network, and has written for NBC News.com and Latino Magazine, among others. She is a graduate of Michigan State University and has a Master’s degree from the Graduate School of Political Management at George Washington University. She specializes in business news, politics and cultural issues, and also freelances.