Academic characteristics of 2009 first-time freshmen Hmong college students at a western university

The academic characteristics of 238 first-time freshmen Hmong college students enrolled in fall of 2009 at a medium size public four year university located in California were examined. Criterion-based sampling was used to identify Western University for the studied. Pre-existing student data of the fall 2009 first-time freshmen were obtained from the university and then disaggregated. Descriptive statistics, ANOVA, chi-square, and the t-test were used to examine the academic characteristics of the first-time freshmen Hmong students. Although Hmong students accounted for 10% of the first-time freshmen enrollment in fall of 2009 at Western University, analysis of the student data indicated that the 2009 first-time freshmen Hmong college students do not share characteristics commonly described as model minority. Findings indicate that 97% of the 2009 first-time freshmen Hmong college students at Western University needed English remediation, 70% needed math remediation, 49% were from homes with a combined income of less than $24,000 a year, and 46% of the students� parents had less than a high school education. However, the retention rate found among the 2009 first-time freshmen Hmong students surpassed the national retention rate of 77.1% and was aligned with California�s retention rate of 84%. Based on the research, recommendations are provided for student success task force members and any personnel working with Hmong college students.