Excelencia in Education Publishes Roadmap for Ensuring America’s Future

The evidence is clear. America cannot become the world leader in college degrees by 2020 or have the globally competitive workforce of the future without a tactical plan for increasing Latino college completion.

The product of collaboration among 60 national partners, the Roadmap for Ensuring America’s Future (March 2011) is a tool for stimulating and facilitating dialogue in communities across the nation about action needed to increase degree attainment generally, and Latino degree attainment specifically.

Latino students are more likely to be non-traditional students, so state and institutional initiatives that focus on those students can make a big difference:

• Colleges and universities should focus on policies that increase retention for working students in good standing, increase early college high schools and dual enrollment programs, and guarantee need-based aid for qualified students.
• Community leaders can do more to inform parents and family members about the pathway to college and to engage their community in supporting college access and degree attainment.
• Historically, the federal government has focused on college access and opportunity through financial aid (Pell grants and Stafford Loans) and support programs (e.g., GEAR Up and TRIO). However, for America to lead the world in college degrees, the federal government must also focus on college retention and degree attainment.

To read the full report, please visit http://www.edexcelencia.org/initiatives/EAF/Roadmap