Yesterday MSNBC.com ran an article about the booming Hispanic market in the United States (including the commonly misleading use of the term "Hispanic"), and the new marketing and communications tactics being used by a variety of companies and institutions to woo Nuevo Hispania.  Approaches used by the Boy Scouts of America, Walmart, AARP, Coke, and a few others are profiled.

As a topic near and dear to my heart as a Latina, I was intrigued to think about the implications of this rising demographic on colleges and universities beyond the diversity we so often discuss on campuses.  Specifically, how can we approach Hispanics with online and nontraditional offerings and how can we convince them to enroll? 

Latino Perspectives' article last August suggests online education is a match for many "Latinos because it allows them to pursue a degree without compromising family time, as is the case with a traditional college education." 

Panacea of prospective students?  Perhaps.  But, note the Pew Hispanic/Pew Internet survey of 2007 that found that 67% of Hispanics between the ages of 18-29 (our traditional student audience) have Internet access, versus 86% of their white peers.

So, this brings me back to my MSNBC article.  What can we learn from the Boy Scouts and Coke and Walmart about communicating to this rising American demographic?  And what can we learn from our peers who have captured Hispanic online enrollments?  First, we can't make assumptions across the "Hispanic" spectrum, and second we need to do some research and then craft messages that are supported by the data.  Otherwise, we are making decisions with anecdotes that, more often than not, miss our mark completely.

-Teresa Valerio Parrot

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