Perspective: Hispanic Students at a Crossroads: As the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, or HACU, celebrates its 25th anniversary and prepares to gather in San Antonio for its annual conference and gala (October 29-31), the nation is facing a transformational moment that cries for greater and wiser investments in education—particularly in Hispanic higher education—to meet the challenge of regaining the global lead in college degree attainment. The stakes could not be higher.
However, the talk inside the Washington, D.C., beltway seems to ignore the dual national reality of a wider gap in degree completion—compared to other industrialized countries—and persistent Hispanic higher education under-attainment, especially in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, disciplines.
