Saturday, May 05, 2012

Updated Census data re-confirms Pacific Islander underrepresentation in higher education

This month, America observes Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month.  Accordingly, the U.S. Census Bureau has released updated data on Pacific Islanders and Asian Americans.  You can read their whole release here, but I'm happy to highlight the parts that are most relevant to the P.I.A. project's mission to expand higher educational opportunity for Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders by ending their exclusion from academic programs for underrepresented minorities.

Are Pacific Islanders still underrepresented in higher education?


They sure are.

The 2012 release finds that 15 percent of Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islander adults (25-or-older) have at least a bachelors degree.  By comparison, 28 percent of the general U.S. population has at least a bachelors. This is consistent with the data we've blogged about before.

For advanced degrees: 4 percent of Pacific Islanders have an advanced degree, which is less than half of the national average (10 percent).

Want to see historical data on Pacific Islander underrepresentation in higher education?

Click here to view more than 20 years worth: LINK

Kawika

Link to this year's U.S. Census Bureau "Facts for Features" on Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month: LINK

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