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According to the [United States] US Census Bureau, Latino young adults are less likely to have earned an associate degree or higher than other young adults. In 2008, eight per cent of Latinos 18 to 24 years-of-age had earned a degree, compared to 14 per cent of all young adults. Latino adults, 25 years and over, were also less likely to have earned an associate degree or higher than other adults, with 19 per cent of Latinos earning a degree, compared to 29 per cent of blacks, 39 per cent of whites, and 59 per cent of Asians. Meanwhile, census projections estimate that Latinos will be 22 per cent of the nation's college-age population by 2020.

Excelencia in Education responds to this challenge by linking research, policy, and practice that supports higher educational achievement for Latino students. Premier in this effort is Examples of Excelencia, a national initiative to systematically identify and honor programs and departments boosting Latino enrollment, performance and graduation.

The 2010 Examples of Excelencia are: Associate Level - Carreras en Salud (Careers in Health): A Chicago Bilingual Healthcare Partnership at the Wilbur Wright College - Humboldt Park Vocational Education Center; Baccalaureate Level - College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP) at California State University, San Marcos; and Graduate Level - Hispanic Theological Initiative at the Princeton Theological Seminary.

More detailed information about these outstanding 2010 winners is included in this compendium. Also included is information about programs selected as finalists in each category as well as a recognition of innovative programs that support Latino student success.

This compendium is a central component of the Examples of Excelencia initiative. By sharing best practices, we hope to prompt educators and policymakers to challenge the current state of Latino achievement in higher education and inspire them to work to increase Latino student success. All the programs profiled in this compendium are at the forefront of meeting the challenge of improving higher educational achievement for Latino students and we congratulate them for their current and continued efforts.

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By the year 2025, 25 per cent of school-age children in the United States and 22 per cent of the college-age population will be Hispanic. In the nation's largest states - California, Texas, Florida, and New York - Hispanics already have reached that level. Yet even with the growth of the population there remain significant achievement gaps between Hispanic students and other racial and ethnic groups, leading to fewer Latino high school and college graduates. Addressing the educational needs of the fastest-growing community in the United States - the Hispanic community - is vital to our national interest. Programs across the country are beginning to show initial evidence of increasing the opportunities and improving academic achievement for Latino students. This publication offers a compendium of such programs making a positive difference in the educational achievement of Latino students from early childhood through college. The primary purpose of this publication is to provide practical information about programs that are 'working' for Latino students.

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This report offers policy recommendations, based on recent research and discussions, to improve the educational attainment of Florida's workforce, with a focus on Latinos. Given that a large portion of the demographic growth in Florida through 2030 will be Hispanic, the state's economic competitiveness will be highly dependent on the educational attainment of this population. However, the educational attainment of Hispanics in Florida is low. In 2008, about 23 per cent of Hispanics 25 and over in Florida had earned a bachelor's degree or higher. [The report] specifies policy recommendations for higher education that can foster conversations with state legislators, public officials, education stakeholders, and college/university leaders to improve the educational attainment of all Floridians.

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This publication provides a synthesis of national data and the perspectives of Latino students speaking in their own voice about how they and their families view college affordability and opportunity. This brief is part of the Excelencia project, 'Higher Education's Capacity and Affordability for Latino Students' supported by Lumina and offers policy makers and institutional leaders new information to better serve this generation of Latino college goers.

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As Latino representation in US higher education grows, a reality check of institutional practices that support Latino students' access, persistence, and graduation is needed. This brief examines financial aid strategies aimed at increasing enrollment, academic success and degree completion at eight Texas Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs) located along the US-Mexico border serving low-income communities. These institutions rank among the top institutions, both statewide and nationally, in enrolling and graduating Latino students: Texas A&M International University; The University of Texas at Brownsville; The University of Texas at El Paso; The University of Texas Pan American; Laredo Community College; Texas Southmost College; El Paso County Community College District; [and] South Texas College. Understanding what influences Latino students' financial aid choices and which institutional practices are effective in enrolling, retaining, and graduating Latino students is directly relevant to other institutions that are only beginning to experience growth in the number of their non-traditional students. The findings of this brief are intended to inform the programs and services at institutions with growing Hispanic enrollment, as well as state and federal policymakers addressing the broader growth of Hispanic students throughout higher education.

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The importance of college degree completion for US society and economic competitiveness makes it imperative to improve educational outcomes for Latino students. [The authors] have respond[ed] to this challenge by linking research, policy, and practice that supports higher educational achievement for Latino students.

Launched in 2005, Examples of Excelencia is the only national initiative to systematically identify and honor programs boosting Latino enrollment, performance and graduation with evidence of effectiveness. These programs are leading effective investments in postsecondary education today to increase the success of Latino and other post-traditional students. While these programs do not serve Latino students exclusively, they each disaggregate their data and can demonstrate success via common threads that include strong leadership, evidence of effectiveness and intentionality of serving Latino students.

Each compendium provides a snapshot of that year's programs recognized as Examples of Excelencia, along with information on programs selected as finalists. Excelencia recognizes programs in the following issue areas: access, retention, transfer, support, and academic program. Programs and/or departments at the associate, baccalaureate, graduate and community-based organization categories are included.

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In a state where the majority of the population is minority, how youth manoeuvre through the educational system plays a determining role in the economic well-being of the state. ENLACE New Mexico was created in 2001 to empower the community, students and educators to affect positive change in the public educational system, leading to increased student success, not just for Hispanics, but for all students. An acronym for ENgaging LAtino Communities for Education, ENLACE also has meaning in Spanish - 'to link or weave together'.

A critical premise of ENLACE is that partnerships can result in systemic changes as local schools, colleges and universities work together in new ways. In addition, connecting disenfranchised communities to the educational process can shift the work from a series of disconnected projects into an educational movement. ENLACE’s theory of action assumes investing in multi-pronged strategies will create the student-level and systems-level impacts that define ENLACE’s goals and objectives. Therefore, getting incremental results, even if they are limited improvements in a small arena, signals change is possible and provides momentum for sustaining ENLACE’s work. As ENLACE New Mexico continues to grow and evolve, participants will face continuing challenges. Establishing partnerships that will outlive fleeting external funds requires building relationships and laying down community roots to address educational disparities for the long term. In turn, these partnerships signal to students that their educational achievement matters to everyone in the community.

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As the college-age Latino population continues to increase throughout the nation, meeting the country’s future human capital and workforce needs make it imperative to improve outcomes for Latino students today. As public attention is focused on existing achievement gaps, educators and policymakers are seeking ways to improve educational outcomes for Latinos. Now in its fourth year, Examples of Excelencia is identifying programs at institutions throughout the country investing strategically to improve results for Latino students, and all students. The 2008 Examples of Excelencia are the Bilingual Nursing Program at South Mountain Community College in Arizona (Associate level), Bachelor of Architecture at Woodbury University in California (Baccalaureate level) and the Intellectual Entrepreneurship Pre-Graduate Internship Program at the University of Texas at Austin (Graduate level). More detailed information about how these three programs positively impact the Latino students they serve follows in this compendium. Also included is information about additional outstanding programs identified as semi-finalists during the 2008 review process.

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Synthesizing national and public data to provide a snapshot of the educational progress, strengths, and areas of need for America’s fastest growing and youngest population - Latinos. The factbook provides a baseline profile to focus on Latino human capital.

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This fact sheet provides a framework for Pennsylvania to implement changes to: (1) close the equity gap in college completion; (2) increase the number of degrees conferred; and (3) scale up programs and initiatives that work for Latino and other students.

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