Asian American and Pacific Islander enrollment plummeted at California’s community colleges

Enrollment of Asian American and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander students in California’s community colleges dropped 20% from fall 2019 to fall 2021, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is according to a May report from The Campaign for College Opportunity, a California nonprofit working to make college access more equitable.
The report stressed that looking at average academic outcomes for Asian American and NHPI students as one group hides important variations. For example, 38% of Asian American community college students enrolled in 2013-14 transferred to a four-year university within six years. Among NHPI students, only 22% transferred. Some 15% and 11% of those cohorts, respectively, earned a degree or certificate.
Colleges and universities should offer support systems to Asian Americans and NHPI students who have been impacted by an increase in hate crimes toward their community, according to the report.