Just as COVID-19 disproportionately affected many minority populations, the San Diego Community College District (SDCCD) saw that the pandemic shutdown had severe repercussions on its Latinx and Hispanic students. This negative setback comes just as the national Latinx population continues to grow, and the number of Hispanic students enrolling at and succeeding in the SDCCD’s colleges and specialized programs has also increased. In order to combat these downward trends, it is imperative that appropriate funding is established, including public monies and grants, and pertinent programs are put in place to support Latinx students.

Census data, both nationally and statewide in California, continue to demonstrate steady population gains by the Hispanic/Latinx population. According to the 2020 United States Census, there are 62.1 million Latinx people living in America, making up 18% of the total population. Since 2010, the Latinx population has grown 23%, while the non-Latinx population has only grown 4.3%.

Looking forward: Focused efforts to support Latinx students

Students within the Latinx population traditionally enroll at community colleges rather than directly enrolling at or transferring to four-year schools. Today, however, fewer Latinx students are embarking on either path. In line with this trend, many of the nation’s 500 Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) — a designation describing colleges with larger Hispanic populations, therefore making them eligible to receive grants to improve student outcomes — are experiencing a disproportionate impact of the pandemic.

Many HSIs are public colleges, which rely heavily on public and grant funding to keep tuition costs low. While HSIs received supplemental federal Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) dollars, in many instances, these colleges do not have large endowments to counter all of the financial threats caused by the pandemic. As a result, many institutions that serve large numbers of Latinx students, including those within the SDCCD, are currently experiencing a dire budget crunch.

Within the SDCCD, which consists of three credit colleges — San Diego City College, San Diego Mesa College, and San Diego Miramar College — as well as the San Diego College of Continuing Education (SDCCE, one of the largest noncredit divisions in the United States), 38% of  students identify as Latinx.

SDCCD’s Latinx population is younger than the overall student population, and those students are more likely to be the first person in their families to attend college. Hispanic students also tend to report lower levels of income — whereas 44% of district students indicate that they earn over $33,000 per year, only 30% of Latinx individuals fall into this upper-income group.

Latinx students also hold fewer post-secondary degrees. At the district’s three credit colleges, there is a 7% difference between non-Latinx and Latinx students when it comes to having a higher education degree prior to enrollment. That gap increases significantly when looking at the noncredit division of the district with 64% of non-Latinx students holding a post-secondary degree, compared to only 32% of Latinx students.

The district has established programs within each of its credit colleges to support “Dreamers” who participate in the Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. DACA recipients have grown up as Americans, identify themselves as Americans, and many speak only English and have no memory of or connection with the country in which they were born. Under current immigration law, most of these young people had no way of gaining legal residency even though they have lived in the U.S. for most of their lives. State funding allocated for these centers, which help Dreamers navigate their rights and responsibilities, will sunset soon, but the district is working on creative opportunities to continue these services. 

The noncredit SDCCE is uniquely positioned to serve Spanish-speaking undocumented immigrants because students do not have to be legal American residents or citizens in order to enroll in its adult education certificate programs. These courses are open to any persons who live in California, regardless of their status. Many educators and policymakers are not aware that adult noncredit education was developed and expanded to serve the most vulnerable residents, including immigrants and refugees.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, SDCCD made significant gains with Latinx students. The state of education for Latinx students improved in several areas ranging from access to completion. Some highlights include:

· Districtwide representation of Latinx students increased 1% from 2018-19 to 2019-20, from 37% to 38% of all students enrolled. The proportion of Latinx students has increased consistently since the 1980s.

· Hispanic student enrollment in the Honors Program increased by 12% from 2017-18 to 2019-20, with 120 more Latinx students participating, while at the same time the overall enrollment in the program grew by 5%.

· The number of Latinx students in SDCCD’s dual enrollment program more than doubled (+138%) from 2016-17 (686) to 2019-20 (1,631). Latinx representation grew from 32% in 2016-17 to 37% in 2019-20.

· 1,546 Latinx students attended SDCCD in 2018-19 and transferred to a four-year institution in 2019-20 (the most recent year for which data is available). This is an increase of 494 Latinx students, or 47% compared to five years ago.

· Under the Student-Centered Funding Formula criteria, the number of Hispanic students completing Transfer English and Math in their first year increased by 124% between 2016-17 and 2019-20.

· Latinx students achieving the Regional Living Wage after attending the district increased by 48% between 2016-17 and 2019-20.

These improvements in the state of education for SDCCD’s Latinx students have been a source of pride for our community. However, despite these advancements, since the March 2020 closures due to the pandemic, Latinx students at all four SDCCD colleges have experienced considerable setbacks. As with other disproportionately impacted student populations, Latinx students experienced the more pernicious consequences of the COVID-19 shutdown.

SDCCD is closely monitoring all student progress, but we are concerned that several indicators suggest it may take years for Latinx students to reverse these downward trends in access and completion. The pandemic has produced these unfortunate outcomes:

·  Across the district’s credit colleges, Latinx students were conferred 326 fewer degrees and certificates in 2019-20 than in 2018-19, a decrease of 16% (2018-19: 1,995; 2019-20: 1,669). Under the California State Student-Centered Funding Formula criteria, the largest reduction in awards for Hispanic students was for Certificates of Achievement, which fell by 32% between 2016-17 and 2019-20.

· Hispanic student enrollment in the Honors Program decreased by 49% from 2019-20 to 2020-21, with 471 fewer Latinx students participating. Overall enrollment in the Honors Program decreased by 45%, showing a disproportionate impact on Latinx students.

· Hispanic student participation in dual enrollment programs decreased by 20% from 2019-20 to 2020-21, with 326 fewer Hispanic students participating. Dual enrollment decreased by 11% in the SDCCD during the same time period, but the proportion of Latinx student representation in dual enrollment classes decreased 4% from 2019-20 to 2020-21, from 37% to 33%. Latinx student success rates in these programs also decreased 4% between 2019-20 and 2020-21, from 88% to 84%, as overall success rates decreased by only 2%.

· Latinx student retention also declined during the pandemic. Term retention (fall to spring) has declined from 80% in fall 2016 to 74% in fall 2020. Annual retention (fall to fall) has dropped from 60% in fall 2016 to 55% in fall 2019.

These statistics are disheartening, but identifying the disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 closure on different populations of students will allow our district to develop and implement interventions to reverse these troubling trends. This year, this district is deploying $50 million in cash awards to students. Faculty members are working to overhaul the distance education experience for students and building out robust, online student support systems. We recently learned that City and Mesa colleges were awarded three new major HSI grants to build science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) pathways for Latinx students. These efforts are just highlights of the various activities underway at SDCCD.

All four colleges in the district are members of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities. Two of the three eligible colleges are HSIs and recipients of grants from the National Science Foundation to support Latinx student success in STEM. We will continue to leverage every opportunity for advocacy and expanded support.

Looking forward, SDCCD is focused on reopening completely in January 2022. As we regroup, we are fully cognizant of our commitment to ensuring that all students benefit from the recovery. As Latinx students experience disproportionate impacts, we are doubling down on our efforts to serve our most vulnerable students. The future of our region and nation are dependent on reversing these trends. 

Author Bio: Carlos O. Turner Cortez, Ph.D., is Chancellor of the San Diego Community College District, which includes San Diego City, Mesa, Miramar, and Continuing Education colleges. Serving 100,000 students, the SDCCD is one of the largest community college districts in California.