Evidence That a Greater Presence of Latinx Faculty or Administrators Raises the Completion Rates of Various Cohorts of Community College Students

Abstract

Only a quarter of full-time U.S. students complete their desired goal from community college attendance, with the rate of success even lower for Latinx students. This panel-data regression study looks for evidence regarding the expected influence of increasing the presence of Latinx faculty or administrators on cohort completion rates for all students, only Latinx students, and sub-samples of these two cohort types divided further by economic advantage or college preparation. We find that a one-percentage-point increase in Latinx faculty among full-time instructors or a similar increase in Latinx representation among administrators positively influences nearly all cohort completion rates.