The University of Texas at El Paso’s College of Education recently was ranked No. 1 by a national magazine for bachelor’s degrees awarded to Hispanics. While the rank was based on graduation figures, the heart of the story is behind the numbers.

The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education published its rankings in its May 2 edition using information from the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics. UTEP was ranked in the Top 10 in numerous subject categories as well as the number of undergraduate degree(No. 2) and graduate degrees (No. 4).

Josefina V. “Josie” Tinajero, Ed.D., Dean of the College of Education since 2004, was pleased with the recognition and discussed the reasons behind the college’s success outside UTEP’s Magoffin Auditorium after a recent pre-commencement rehearsal. The college planned to award 230 master’s degrees, about 200 bachelor’s degrees and two doctoral degrees that weekend.

“The message behind the ranking is that we do an effective job at serving Hispanic students, particularly the ones in this region,” Tinajero said. “They have a passion to make a difference.”

More than 15 percent of the University’s 22,000 students are enrolled in the college, which produces teachers, counselors, diagnosticians, and school administrators.

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