Woodbury University Tops National List of Success in Graduating Hispanic Students

BURBANK, Calif., Aug. 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Woodbury University tops a list released today from the Education Trust of private institutions that succeed in graduating Latino students at rates similar to those for white students.

The Education Trust singled out Woodbury as a school where Latino students are thriving, noting that 31 percent of Woodbury students are Hispanic and that the graduation rate for this population is 62 percent—well above the 47% rate for Latino students nationally. The report, "Big Gaps, Small Gaps: Some Colleges and Universities Do Better Than Others in Graduating Hispanic Students," contends that what universities do to promote student success has a tremendous impact, especially for Hispanic students.

"Woodbury's Hispanic students are typically the first in their families to go to college, and they're coming here in search of their entre to economic success," says David M. Rosen, Ph.D., senior vice president, Academic Affairs, Woodbury University. "For them, as the Education Trust report makes clear, a college education is their ticket to fulfilling their dreams, the dreams of their families, and the dreams of their communities. Woodbury feels a deep responsibility to help turn these aspirations into reality."

Rosen points to the highly personal nature of the relationships between Latino students and professors at Woodbury and the individualized attention all Woodbury students receive as the key reasons for graduation success. Nearly 70 percent of Woodbury undergraduates are in studio-based academic programs in the School of Architecture and the School of Media, Culture & Design, with students working daily on projects and receiving real-time feedback from their professors and fellow students as opposed to periodically taking tests. Students in Woodbury's School of Business and the Institute for Transdisciplinary Studies benefit similarly from project-based learning and close interaction with faculty. Other factors that contribute to high Latino graduation rates at Woodbury include an emphasis on student success through the university's support services, including a program that assigns each student a peer mentor in their first semester. In addition, Woodbury has invested heavily in financial support for its students with approximately 94 percent of undergraduates receiving some form of financial aid.

"Over a period of many years, we have become a place where broad cross sections of people can come and be recognized for their talent and their potential," says Rosen. "By focusing on the needs of the individual student and making that student successful, we have created a culture that honors differences and allows all ethnic, social, and economic groups to work together to achieve their goals."

Woodbury University has been designated as a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) under Title V of the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008. Accredited, degree-granting institutions where at least 25 percent of the full-time-equivalent undergraduate student body is Hispanic are designated as HSIs, with these institutions constituting about eight percent of public and nonprofit degree-granting institutions and enrolling approximately half of Hispanic undergraduates in the United States, according to Excelencia in Education. Excelencia in Education recently recognized Woodbury's undergraduate architecture program for its strong record of serving Latino students.

The full report from the Education Trust is available online by visiting the Woodbury University website, www.woodbury.edu, or at the Education Trust website, www.edtrust.org.

Founded in 1884, Woodbury University is one of the oldest institutions of higher education in Southern California. Woodbury offers bachelor's degrees from the School of Architecture, School of Business, School of Media, Culture & Design, and Institute of Transdisciplinary Studies, along with an MBA program, Master of Architecture, Master of Architecture in Real Estate Development, and Master of Organizational Leadership. A San Diego campus offers bachelor of architecture and Master of Architecture in Real Estate Development degrees.

SOURCE Woodbury University

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