DePaul is among the top 100 institutions of higher education to award bachelor's degrees to Hispanics, according to The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education magazine. The national, biweekly magazine published the rankings in its May 5 issue, "The Top 100 Colleges for Hispanics."

     DePaul was 78th in the ranking, which predominately lists universities in states with higher Hispanic populations than Illinois. The rankings are based on the number of Hispanic students who earned bachelor's degrees at universities across the nation during the 1997-98 academic year, the most recent graduation statistics available from 3,000 institutions of higher education gathered by the U.S. Department of Education National Center for Education Statistics. During that 1997-98, DePaul awarded 185 bachelor degrees to Hispanic students of the 1,829 bachelor degrees awarded that year. Last year, DePaul was ranked 90th by the magazine.

     The ranking comes on the heels of DePaul being chosen as one the top 25 colleges and universities for Hispanic students by Hispanic Magazine in its March issue.

     Hispanics represent 9 percent of DePaul's total enrollment of 19,549 and 13 percent of this year's freshman class of 1,749.

     Hispanic students are attracted to DePaul because it offers them rich resources, a diverse faculty and a Catholic university education, said Rafaela Weffer, associate vice president of Academic Affairs.

     DePaul's resources include tutors and the Bridge Program, which offers college preparation for students who want to attend DePaul, she said. In addition, some of DePaul's Hispanic students have participated in STEP (Students, Teachers, Educators, Parents), a multi-year educational enrichment program for college-bound minority high school students who attend classes at DePaul on weekends. "The STEP students have the advantage of being in the DePaul environment for three and a half years, so they feel comfortable here," said Weffer, who directs the STEP program.

     Other resources include a Latin American and Latino Studies program, a Center for Latino Research and more than a half dozen active Latino student organizations on campus.

     Weffer said DePaul's high-profile Hispanic faculty, who come from a wide range of Mexican-American, Cuban-American, Puerto Rican and other Latino backgrounds, also make Hispanic students want to attend DePaul.

     "As a Catholic university, DePaul also is a good fit with the majority of the Latino population," she added. "Parents feel good about sending their children to a university that supports their Catholic values."