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Big Push Starts to Improve Georgia Higher Ed Graduation Rates

Governor Nathan Deal has announced Georgia is one of ten states that will receive $1 million grants from Complete College America to support improvements in higher education graduation rates.  These grants are funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.  One result you can expect from this initiative is closer coordination as it benefits students between the state’s university and technical college systems.

Two years ago Georgetown University’s highly regarded Center on Education and the Workforce predicted 62 percent of all jobs nationwide will require some college education within the next seven years.  Georgia is far from ready according to the Complete College America state data website that reports 34 percent of Georgians 25-to-34 years old have college degrees.

Complete College America found that for every 100 Georgia students who begin ninth grade, just 38 enter college the fall after completing high school.  Just six graduate with a bachelor’s degree within four years.  Just three graduate with an associate’s degree within three years.

The Southern Regional Education Board recently challenged its 16 member states including Georgia to improve higher education graduation rates.  SREB said, “Fewer than half of ninth graders in SREB states and the nation have a reasonable chance of college enrollment — an alarming statistic.”  SREB focuses on southern states from Delaware to Texas.

Governor Deal announced his Complete College Georgia Initiative on Thursday morning during a news conference at the State Capitol in Atlanta.

“We must increase the number of students with access to higher education and ensure that these students graduate with post-secondary degrees in a timely manner,” Deal said.  “We know this problem is significant.  Less than a quarter of full-time students at two-year colleges ever graduate and only 44 percent at four-year colleges get their degree within six years.  We also know the problem is fixable.”

One goal will be to ensure higher education becomes more seamless.  A common concern has been the difficulty that students sometimes encounter when they attempt to transfer credits between schools, especially between technical college and university system institutions.

Part of the $1 million grant will improve remedial education at four schools: the Coastal College of Georgia and Georgia Gwinnett College in the university system; and, Athens Technical College and DeKalb Technical College in the technical colleges system.

A new scholarship program will focus on low-income middle school students who have college potential and it will provide support through high school.  Students who complete the program will receive tuition scholarships.  Private partners are being sought to assist with seed funding.

The Governor’s Office will also create a commission to focus on changes to higher education funding, similar to an existing commission that is working now on K-to-12 education funding.

Complete College America was established two years ago by Stan Jones who is a former Indiana state commissioner of higher education.  CCA receives support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Ford Foundation, the Lumina Foundation for Education and the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, in addition to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Other $1 million grant winning states include Arkansas, California, Colorado, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland and Tennessee.  Two states will be announced soon.  Thirty-three states applied.

(Mike Klein is Editor at the Georgia Public Policy Foundation)

August 4, 2011 Posted by mikekleinonline | Uncategorized | Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Carnegie Corporation, Complete College America, Complete College Georgia, Ford Foundation, Georgia Public Policy Foundation, Governor Nathan Deal, Lumina Foundation for Education, Mike Klein, W. K. Kellogg Foundation | Leave a Comment