Similar to other student groups navigating their higher education journeys, Latino males are determined, motivated, and capable of academic success. Yet, when institutional data are disaggregated, persistent gaps in outcomes for Latino males become evident. Despite targeted efforts to enroll and retain Latino males, national data indicate that they attain higher education credentials at significantly lower rates than their peers, remaining a concern for higher education practitioners. In response, community colleges have developed campaigns and initiatives aimed at attracting and retaining men of color, often emphasizing affordability, convenience, and the long-term benefits of earning a college credential or degree. While these efforts highlight important considerations in students’ decisions to pursue higher education, they may not fully capture how Latino males themselves understand the value and practical benefits of a college education. Recognizing the need to better understand these perspectives, Ramos (2026) examined the factors, perceptions, and values of graduating Latino male community college students in the Southwest region of the United States, with particular attention to how they perceive the value of their education.
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Similar to other student groups navigating their higher education journeys, Latino males are determined, motivated, and capable of academic success. Yet, when institutional data are disaggregated, persistent gaps in outcomes for Latino males become evident. Despite targeted efforts to enroll and retain Latino males, national data indicate that they attain higher education credentials at significantly lower rates than their peers, remaining a concern for higher education practitioners. In response, community colleges have developed campaigns and initiatives aimed at attracting and retaining men of color, often emphasizing affordability, convenience, and the long-term benefits of earning a college credential or degree. While these efforts highlight important considerations in students’ decisions to pursue higher education, they may not fully capture how Latino males themselves understand the value and practical benefits of a college education. Recognizing the need to better understand these perspectives, Ramos (2026) examined the factors, perceptions, and values of graduating Latino male community college students in the Southwest region of the United States, with particular attention to how they perceive the value of their education.
For higher education practitioners, understanding and addressing Latino male achievement disparities goes beyond individual student outcomes. Given a fast-growing Latino population and a labor market that is increasing the demand for workers with postsecondary credentials or technical training, Cuellarsola and Yan (2026) insist Latino college completion is critically connected to the nation’s economic growth and welfare. As illuminated in Ramos (2026), by 2031, the total number of jobs is projected to reach nearly 171 million, with employers expecting 72 percent of new and replacement hires to have a college degree or other forms of postsecondary training (Carnevale et al., 2023). The most recent labor force increase can be largely attributed to the growth in Latino workforce, as according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (n.d.), “Hispanics make up the nation’s fastest growing worker group, and accounted for about two-thirds of the net labor force increase between 2003 and 2023.” As this new workforce grows, so does the need for increased Latino higher education attainment. According to Santiago et al. (2023), the United States must ensure that 6.2 million Latinos earn degrees by 2030 to “regain the top global ranking in the world for college degree attainment” (p.8) and meet future workforce demands.
Multidimensional Lenses Latino Male Students View Higher Education Value
Findings from the mixed methods study revealed the multidimensional lenses with which Latino male students view the value of their community college education:
Awareness of degree value is strong, and there is a strong connection between education and economic mobility. Participants consistently identified their college degree as important for securing stable employment, increasing earning potential, and creating opportunities for upward mobility. For Latino males, degree utility was a primary factor in determining the worth of their community college education.
Higher education attainment is a priority for them and their families. Awareness of degree value and its ability to create upward socio-economic mobility are present for Latino males when conducting a value calculation on attending or returning to college.
Latino males also attach meaningful, intangible value to their community college education. Many students in the study mentioned their love and dedication to their families as a primary driver in their decision to enroll and persist. Latino males understand fully that success reverberates beyond themselves (personal pride) and contributes positively to their family’s direction.
Their educational journey represented a way to explore a personal interest, set an example for their family and change their family’s trajectory (even for the family they hope to one day create), validate their academic capabilities, and experience deep personal pride. (Ramos, 2026)
While Latino male study participants recognized the value and long-term economic benefits of attaining higher education credentials, the awareness of that value is not static. Unfortunately, findings also confirmed that participants are continuously negotiating between current financial pressures and future goals.
Onboarding New Latino Male Students
With the findings in mind, the following recommendations focus on making the practical value of a college credential clearer, more relevant, and continuously reinforced throughout the student experience:
Consider student success frameworks that go beyond access to cultivate degree value awareness, developing academic pathways and career outcomes across multiple touchpoints, including onboarding, advising, and classroom instruction.
Expand the practical value of a college credential to acknowledge the broader meaning, such as personal pride, role modeling, contributing to intergenerational advancement.
Reinforce the relevance of coursework and connect academic content to students’ broader goals.
Latino male study participants were generous with their expectations of success and open to sharing the meaningful, intangible value of their community college education on their and their family’s mindset. While tuition costs and personal finances mattered, Latino males often drew a strong connection between the credential being earned at their community college and socioeconomic mobility for them and their families.
Dr. Cynthia Ramos serves as Interim Vice President of Student Affairs at Phoenix College, a Maricopa Community College. Dr, Ramos is a recent graduate of the Kansas State University Community College Leadership Program.
The Roueche Center Forum is co-edited by Drs. Margaretta B. Mathis and John E. Roueche of the John E. Roueche Center for Community College Leadership, Department of Educational Leadership, College of Education, Kansas State University.
This story originally ran in The EDU Ledger's October 1, 2026 edition. Subscribe here for full access.
