Enrollment swelled 7.5 percent this semester at Hancock College, which includes an 11.6-percent leap in Latino enrollment.

The increase represents nearly 700 new students - 385 of whom are Latino - on the 9,945-student campus.

“This year, we're very happy to see an increase,” said Salvador Castillo, Hancock director of institutional research and planning.

In recent years, Hancock's enrollment has grown relatively consistently and steadily, though the college saw a 5-percent drop in 2005-2006.

Though they said they could not pinpoint one specific cause for the enrollment spike this fall, college officials largely attributed the influx to a decrease in fees from $26 to $20 per academic unit last spring.

A full-time student taking 12 units, for example, would save $72 per semester with the lower fees.

“It's a pretty solid guess that that's a contributing factor,” Castillo said.

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The jump in enrollment may also be the beginning of a snowball effect from the current mortgage crisis, as many heavily leveraged owners are having trouble keeping up with their payments as the values of their homes stagnate.

“When the economy is bad, we tend to see a rise in community college enrollment because people are trying to upgrade their skills,” Castillo said.

In addition to the overall growth, Hancock saw the even bigger 11.6-percent rise in Latino enrollment this semester.

At first glance, the increase might seem like cause for celebration, but Castillo cautioned those who would jump to conclusions. “I would object to calling it a spike,” said Castillo, who called it an “influx” of Latino students.

Hancock's overall Latino population has increased only about

3 percent, and Latinos still make up only a little more than 37 percent of the student body, with white students accounting for 51 percent.

Student Chase Aquino, who is heavily involved in various campus clubs devoted to the support and betterment of Latino students, agreed with Castillo's assessment.

“This is a predominately Latino area,” said Aquino, giving his opinion on why Hancock saw the big increase in Latino students.

Aquino's own path to Hancock was a somewhat winding and difficult one.

The 22-year-old first enrolled at Hancock in 2003 after graduating from high school, but quit during his first year.

“I sort of second-guessed school,” he acknowledged. “I don't think I knew what I wanted to do.”

After floundering at a job working the lines at a local manufacturer, Aquino decided it was time to make a change and returned to Hancock in 2004, hoping for a fresh start.

“My first semester back was almost like a vacation,” Aquino laughed.

Hancock's increase in Latino enrollment also mirrors statewide trends in the ethnic identities of California's high school graduates, Castillo added.

According the California Department of Education, the number of Hispanic high school graduates has increased to approximately 125,000 from about 75,000 in 1992.

“You're going to get an increase (in Latino students) just from that,” said Castillo.

In the end, Castillo said, Hancock's Latino population matches that of the Hancock Community College District, which serves northern Santa Barbara and southern San Luis Obispo counties.

County statistics show that Latinos comprise 38 percent of Santa Barbara County's population, for example.

As he prepares to transfer to a four-year university next fall to study mechanical engineering, Aquino said there is still much work to do in getting more Latino kids - as well as those of all other ethnicities - to attend college. Support, Aquino said, is the key.

“Great mentors helped motivate me,” he said. “(Students) all have to have the same goal: To better themselves.”

December 2, 2007