College Going Rate among Burmese-Americans Increased to 91% while Maintaining 96.9% College Persistence Rate

179,894 Burmese refugees have been admitted to the United States since 2000. While over 32,000 Burmese individuals are residing in Indiana, nearly 23,000 of them are calling Indianapolis their new home.

INDIANAPOLIS, Aug. 7, 2020—A study released by the Burmese American Community Institute (BACI) this week at its 9^th Annual Research Presentation confirms the college going rate among Burmese-Americans has increased to 91.3 percent this year from 88 percent in 2019, while the population has maintained 97 percent college persistence in the past several years.

 “We are delighted to see the continued success of Burmese-American students with their higher education in the United States,” said Lian Sang, Director of the Institute’s Upward College Programs which helps prepare high school students for their college readiness and success.

The researchers, who present their research findings and solution oriented policy recommendations as the culmination of an 8-week intensive scientific PAR research project, said that they hope this information will help policy and decision makers when formulating policies and allocating federal resources across the nation.

“Our team found that Burmese students continue to persist in college for reasons to pursue their academic goals and achieve better job opportunities; whereas financial issues remain one significant external barriers for Burmese students,” said Dr. Xiang Zhou, Assistant Professor at Purdue University who advises college persistence research.

The study also shows that 179,894 Burmese refugees have been admitted to the United States since 2000. While over 32,000 Burmese individuals are residing in Indiana, nearly 23,000 of them are calling Indianapolis their new home. The overall Burmese population in the U.S. is estimated to be over 300,000.

The findings further indicated that the number of secondary migrants, who initially resettled in other cities and states across the US and later moved to Indianapolis, is also increasing, with just 10,415 being primary arrivals in the city since 2000.

In his remarks, BACI Executive Director Elaisa Vahnie thanked the researchers, research advisors, and all partners saying, “the young leaders and scholars have not just produced this amazing research and knowledge product within such a short period of time, but they have just led us to solving some of the most pressing problems of our community and our world”.

“We are grateful for the leadership of the city and the state for not only welcoming us but, creating a policy environment in which everyone is treated the same and equal. We remain committed to strengthening and expanding our services by collaboratively working with our partners to ensure newcomers are becoming economically self-sufficient, integrated, and productive citizens of the society.”

In addition to maintaining a 100% post-secondary education enrollment rate for those students who successfully completed the Upward College Programs, BACI has been working to empower new Americans through English and civic education, naturalization assistance, as well as assisting the community members with their gainful employment and microenterprise development service provisions as they are becoming fully engaged and contributing citizens. 

This year’s research topics included College-Going Rate and Higher Education among Burmese-American students, College Persistence among Burmese-American students, COVID-19 Impact on the Burmese Community, with a focus on Young Adult Developmental Outcomes, Improving Child Healthcare for Burmese Families by Designing Simulations (Culturally and Linguistically), Maternal and Child Health, and U.S Refugee Resettlement Program and Secondary Migration and Asian American Population. 

The BACI summer project also estimated 600+ Burmese-Americans graduated from American Colleges and Universities and 2,000 from High Schools respectively in 2020.

A hybrid event organized both onsite and remote was attended by members of the BACI board of directors, dignitaries, community members, various partner organizations and collaborators.

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