Columbia Gorge Community College has become the first Hispanic-serving institution of higher education in Oregon to become a member of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU), a national organization centered on improving educational achievement for America’s largest minority group.   CGCC is the only college in the state to meet the U.S. Department of Education’s standards as a Hispanic-serving institution of higher education as of the end of the 2016 calendar year.  CGCC’s Hispanic enrollment currently stands at 26 percent, but school officials have noted that does not reflect the region’s demographics.  Hispanics now constitute 34 percent of the student population in North Wasco County School District 21 and 43.5 percent of students enrolled in Hood River County School District.  The school has made increasing Hispanic enrollment one of its goals.