Central New Mexico Community College and New Mexico State University Dona Ana Community College branch were among The Hispanic Outlook on Higher Education magazine’s top 50 community and junior colleges.

The March 18 issue (not online as of yet) listed CNM No. 13 for colleges awarding the most associate degrees to Hispanics. NMSU-Dona Ana was No. 29.

However, CNM falls off the magazine’s top 50 list when it comes to the number of Hispanic faculty members employed. That’s something CNM President Kathie Winograd would like to change.

 

“We recently unveiled a new Strategic Direction at CNM and one of our five primary goals for the future is to build on our multi-faceted diversity,” Winograd said. “In addition to continuing our efforts to serve our diverse students to the best of our ability, we are also committed to creating student pathways that will encourage a similar level of diversity in our faculty ranks.”

CNM isn’t too far behind the top school, El Paso Community College, in terms of total degrees awarded each year, but it trailed the Texas school considerably in degrees awarded to Hispanics. El Paso Community College granted 1,834 degrees in 2007 and 1,549 of those were earned by Hispanics. CNM awarded 1,265 degrees,483 to Hispanics.

“At CNM, we are very proud of the diversity of our student body because it reflects the great diversity in our community,” Winograd said. “CNM has a longstanding reputation for welcoming students from all kinds of diverse backgrounds, which includes socio-economic backgrounds. We have been committed to keeping our tuition very low and accessibility very high.

 

“Our reputation as an institution that welcomes everybody, regardless of age, ethnicity or socio-economic background, allows us to be one of the top minority-serving colleges in the country.”

 

NMSU-Dona Ana granted a total of 553 degrees, 335 to Hispanics in 2007.

 

The magazine cites surveys from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) stating that California and Texas outpace all other states with "the most Hispanic students enrolled" and "granted degrees," as well as the most Hispanic faculty members in community colleges.