Jul 01, 2008
FIU awarded the most bachelor degrees to Hispanics in the United States in 2007, according to Hispanic Outlook on Higher Education Magazine. The magazine analyzed the number of Hispanic four-year graduates from a sampling of universities across the country and compiled a list of the top 100 schools.
FIU ranked first with a total 3,169 graduates, nearly 1,020 more graduates than the second ranked school, the University of Texas Pan American and 2,069 more students than the third ranked school, the University of Texas at El Paso.
Each of the schools in the top ten came from states with heavy Hispanic populations, such as California, Texas, Nevada, Arizona and Florida.
While many in the FIU community look at this distinction with great admiration, some students see it as no surprise.
"It's all about location, location, location. It seems pretty logical to me [that FIU has the most bachelor degrees for Hispanics] because of where we are located in South Florida and our close ties to Latin America," said FIU graduate Pablo Varona, who recently received his bachelor's degree in finance and international business in 2007. "It's a great honor, but [FIU's] location plays a huge role. If this were a northern state such as North Dakota, then it would come as more of a surprise."
According to the last U.S. Census, Hispanics comprise nearly 20 percent of Florida's overall population and 65 percent of Miami's population.
Out of the more than 38,000 students who attend the University, 34,773 are Florida residents. Combined with the fact that FIU is a commuter school makes it a prime destination for local South Floridians who wish to stay close to home.
According to FIU's 2007 fact book, the official head count of the student body since Fall 2007 is 38,290. Hispanics make up more than half the student population as the largest ethnic group on campus with 22,769 students.
In comparison, the University of Miami, with a student population of nearly 15,000, has a Hispanic population of 3,000 students.
The University of Florida, the largest public university in the state, has a student population of more than 51,000, but less than 6,000 Hispanic students. When compared to other Miami-area schools, FIU had four times more Hispanic graduates than the University of Miami and Barry University.
Besides its location, many Miami residents like Varona also chose FIU because when compared to other local universities, FIU's relatively low tuition costs make it less of a burden on their bank accounts.
"For me UM was just too expensive," Varona said.
Ralph Cabañas, who was awarded his bachelor's degree in business administration in Fall 2007, was not surprised by the high number of Hispanic graduates.
"I believe Hispanics have that innate desire to stay close to their families," Cabañas said, whose family originally hails from Cuba. "I chose to stay at FIU because it was close to home."
Cabañas, like many students, looked at FIU's low tuition costs and its close proximity to Miami, but he also looked at some of FIU's other strengths.
"[FIU] has a top business school and the University is still growing," said Cabañas.
With Hispanics making up such a large part of the FIU student body, some argue that FIU may need more diversity in its college campus.
But graduates like Cabañas compare FIU's current student body to how it was during their early years and see vast differences.
"I remember when I was a freshman in 2004, FIU had a huge amount of Hispanic students. Now I see that the University has become more diverse, with students from all sorts of backgrounds. FIU is growing and truly living up to its namesake of being an international university," Cabañas said.