Historically, California's Latino population has had below-average rates of participation in the state's public higher education system. Does this mean that Latinos are less concerned about higher educational issues? The survey conclusively answers this question in the negative. Perhaps because of their low participation rates, California's Latinos are even more anxious about higher education issues than is the non-Latino population.

For example, Latinos are considerably more likely to see college as important. Seventy-eight percent of Latinos say that a college education is necessary for almost everyone, significantly higher than the percentage of non-Latinos (61 percent) who feel this way. And by an overwhelming margin of 84 percent to 10 percent, Latinos believe that high school graduates' job prospects will improve if they go directly to college after high school, rather than take "any decent job offer they get."

Latinos consider higher education so important because they see it as a real opportunity for low-income individuals (and minorities) to succeed in American society. When asked to rate the importance of various higher education goals, many non-Latinos say that giving people from low-income backgrounds opportunities to succeed is reasonably important, with 44 percent giving it the highest rating on a seven-point scale (see Table A). Sixty-one percent of Latinos, however, give this goal their highest rating. Not surprisingly, Latinos are also much more likely to consider opportunities for minorities as an important goal of higher education. Fifty-seven percent of Latinos give this goal the highest rating, compared to just 35 percent of the non-Latino population. Latinos also give a high priority to the ability of a higher education to make students more sensitive to other cultures.

Table A Latinos vs. Non-Latinos on the Importance of Specific Goals for Higher Education
To what extent do you think [INSERT GOAL] should be accomplished by a college education?
% rating goal a 7 on a 7-point scale where 7 means the goal is extremely important	Latinos	Non-Latinos
Exposing students to other cultures and teaching them to respect diversity	63%	45%
Giving people from lower income backgrounds opportunities to succeed	61%	44%
Helping turn students into good citizens	61%	50%
Giving minorities such as blacks and Latinos opportunities to succeed	57%	35%

Given their strong emphasis on the importance of higher education, it is hardly surprising that Latinos are even more concerned than the rest of the population about access to colleges and universities. Sixty-five percent of Latinos (as opposed to 50 percent of non-Latinos) believe that many people who are qualified to go to college do not have the opportunity to do so (see Table B).

Table B Latinos versus Non-Latinos on Steps to Improve Access to Higher Education
% agreeing with following statements:	Latinos	Non-Latinos
It is a poor idea to "raise college prices even though some people argue the financial burden on families and students would be too high"	82%	62%
There are many people who are qualified to go to college but don't have the opportunity to do so	65%	50%
Government should give more loans and grants to qualifiedstudents who can't afford college prices even if that means spending on other services would have to be cut	56%	44%
Fees for California's public colleges and universities should be less for those with lower incomes	55%	42%
California's public college and university system needs to be fundamentally overhauled	53%	42%

This greater concern about access translates into greater support for steps to increase access. Latinos are significantly more likely than non-Latinos to think that the higher education system should be fundamentally overhauled and to oppose price increases. They are also more likely to support government loans and to feel that higher education fees should be based on a sliding scale so that low-income people pay less.

Thus, California's Latino population holds a more intense version of the views held by the population at large, believing that a higher education is extremely important and that access to higher education is not as widespread and equitable as it should be. Compared to the non-Latino population, they are even more supportive of steps to improve the situation, including a fundamental overhaul of the system. Since the Latino population is one of the fasting growing groups in California, it is likely that these attitudes may become more widespread in the years ahead.