The goal of IHOU is to provide tools to institutions of higher education that would like to better serve Hispanics and enhance campus diversity. Our programs address the needs of several different groups within the Hispanic community, some obvious, and others not.
- Spanish speakers who are learning English, but are not quite ready to be admitted into an institution where a high‐level of English is needed. These students can get a head start by taking credit courses in their native language while they continue working on their English.
- Students who are already in an institution, but who may be underperforming. We have learned in our discussions with Hispanic faculty that they have seen troubled students flourish when given a chance to study in their native language.
- Students who grew up in a Spanish‐speaking environment, but who have no academic background in Spanish. There is a growing need for people who have bilingual skills with a high level of literacy. The Spanish they spoke at home needs to be turned into an asset.
- Spanish‐speakers with degrees from abroad who need to satisfy general education requirements in order to be admitted to graduate programs in the United States. This includes people already living in the U.S. as well as people living abroad.
- Recent high school graduates in Latin America who would like to study in the U.S., but who are not quite ready emotionally and/or financially to move to the U.S.
- Non‐native speakers who are simply interested in taking courses in Spanish, whether for personal or professional reasons.
An institution that chooses to provide avenues for addressing the needs of Hispanics demonstrates its openness and its commitment. It issues a clear “welcome.” Although courses in Spanish are still relatively rare in the United States, some institutions have been offering them, like the University of Texas, El Paso have been offering them for many years. We see this as an important and inevitable direction for the future of higher education.
