Top 10% linguistically diverse students’ access and success at texas public universities

According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the Texas population by race is 45% White, 38% Latina/o, 12% Black, and 4% Asian. The public school population is 50.3% Hispanics, 31.2% White, 12.9 % Black, 3.4 Asian, 1.6% Two or More Races, 0.5% American Indian/Alaskan Native, and 0.1% Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander (Texas Education Agency, 2011). Additionally, the Texas Education Agency (2010) reports that 17% of students enrolled in the Texas K-12 system are identified as English learners. Considering this wealth of diversity, by understanding the link between higher education experiences of diverse students and education policy, both educators and policy makers can improve their practices and improve overall access and academic success. However, prior to this implication and at the crux of this chapter, we must first grasp what lies at the intersection of top culturally/linguistically diverse students, and their access to and success in Texas higher education. This chapter uses descriptive statistics with statewide individual-level data from a state agency to present demographics, with an emphasis on linguistically diverse students in Texas. Additionally, this chapter differentiates data by regional dynamics by aggregating data by Borderland universities, top tier1 universities, and other Texas universities. In order to highlight both access and success, this work will report a breakdown of top 10% linguistically diverse students by ethnicity, gender, economic status, college generation status, and regional diversity.