Data Disaggregation: Taking CARE of the Model Minority Myth

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July 10, 2013

Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) students exist in an interesting place, especially in the context of higher education. On one hand, they are often grouped together with White students because of their perceived success as a group, however, one cannot deny that they encounter the same struggles that their Black and Latino/a counterparts have to deal with as well. AAPI students often have to battle this Model Minority Myth.

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Federal Funding Could Help Universities Attract More AANAPI Students

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July 1, 2013

In 2008, the federal government launched a program to allow some universities to identify themselves as Asian-American, Native American and Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions (AANAPISI). However, according to Ronald Roach of Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, of the 153 schools around the country that qualify for the designation, only 78 have applied for it and received it so far. And of those winning the designation, only 21 actually received federal grants that are supposed to help recruit and retain Asian-American and Pacific Islander students.

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Higher Education Summit Highlights Research on Asian-American, Pacific Islander-Serving Schools

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June 25, 2013

Among the 153 U.S. colleges and universities eligible to become federally designated as Asian-American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), only 78 of those schools have sought and been granted the distinction since 2008, when the federal program was launched. Of the 78, just 21 schools have received AANAPISI program funding, which is aimed at improving the retention, transfer and graduation rates of underserved Asian-American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) students.

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Higher Ed. Initiatives Emerge to Serve Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders

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June 25, 2013

About 35 percent more Asian-American and Pacific Islander undergraduate students are likely to be on campuses over the next decade. To meet this growing demand, new research and efforts are emerging to best serve them. A report out earlier this month underscored the need to understand the diversity of the population and collect data based on students’ countries of origin. In addition, a national public-awareness campaign, “We’re Changing the Face of America” was launched in March by the Asian & Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund and the National Commission on Asian American and Pacific Islander Research in Education.

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The Case for Asian-Serving Colleges

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June 25, 2013

The “misperception” that all Asian-American and Pacific Islander students are high-achieving and immune from financial challenges has created barriers for the fastest-growing minority group in the United States, says a study released today. The study finds that colleges that have been designated as serving Asian-American and Native American Pacific Islander students could significantly support low-income students from those groups and help bust the “model minority” myth. But relatively few of those colleges have qualified so far to receive funds through the federal program set up for that purpose.

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Hmong, Indian, What’s the Difference?

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June 14, 2013

Recent news on the higher education scene has turned attention to the Asian American case, or cases we should say. A team of education researchers led by Dr. Robert Teranishi used data from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey and the University of California higher education system to make the case that Asian American ethnic groups are not all performing in the “model minority” way. As some readers know, Asian Americans tend to be grouped together as if they were a racial equivalent to “white” “black” and sometimes “Hispanic.”

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Asian Groups, White House Seek Better Race Data

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June 10, 2013

Asian-Americans are often very visible academically, such as the spelling bee champion whose family emigrated from India, the class valedictorian of Japanese descent or the Chinese-American champion at the science fair. But such successes mask the academic woes of others, such as Cambodians and Native Hawaiians, said Kiran Ahuja, executive director of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

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