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College Web site use by Hispanics charted

Rocky Mountain News

Published November 30, 2006 at midnight

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College-bound Hispanic students surf university Web sites to gather the same information as non-Hispanic students, a study shows.

But Hispanics appear more willing to use text-messaging and podcasts to further their college search.

The analysis of responses from 242 Hispanic high students students - and an analysis of responses from non-Hispanic white students - was conducted by Noel- Levitz, a higher-education consulting firm with offices in Denver; James Tower, a recruiting communications firm; and the National Research Center for College & University Admissions, a nonprofit group.

The study found Hispanic students want to do many of the same activities on college Web sites as non-Hispanic students do, such as learn about financial aid and admissions.

But the study also found that:

• 54 percent of Hispanic students said they would like to download a video podcast from a college Web site vs. 44 percent of non-Hispanic students.

• 61 percent of Hispanic students who own cell phones were open to receiving text messages from college recruiters, vs. 46 percent of non-Hispanic students.

Kevin Crockett, CEO of Noel- Levitz, said it is "critically important" for colleges to understand such differences "so that institutions can communicate with their Hispanic students in the most effective way."