December 13, 2006 :: No. 97

Donald S. Castro, special assistant to Cal State Fullerton President Milton A. Gordon, has been appointed by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) to serve as a team leader of the organization’s ongoing Study of Hispanic Student Success.

The Claremont resident just returned from an orientation session in Washington, D.C., where he and other team leaders from around the country recommended changes to the study’s protocol and report format. The study’s approach will be revised to focus on what contributes to the graduation rate of Latino students at higher-learning institutions.

Colleges and universities throughout the country will participate in the study. AASCU plans to identify and visit the college campuses that have “higher-than-average” graduation rates of their Latino student population. The purpose of the visits will be to determine why those institutions are successful so that other campuses can adjust what they do to improve their Latino student graduation rates.

Cal State Fullerton is ranked No. 1 in California and fourth in the nation for the number of bachelor’s degrees awarded to Hispanics, per data from the U.S. Department of Education reported in May in Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education.

The AASCU study, funded by grants from the Lumina Foundation for Education, will result in a publication that will be available to the public next fall.

« back to News Front