As the United States falls behind other developed nations in its number of college graduates, President Barack Obama and state-level administrators are trying to break the trend.
Once a world-leader, the United States has fallen to 12th among 36 developed nations in its number of citizens with college degrees between ages 25 and 34, according to a July report by the College Board. This number is even lower in North Carolina, in which only 36 percent of residents have college degrees compared with 37.8 percent nationally, according to the Census Bureau.
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As the United States falls behind other developed nations in its number of college graduates, President Barack Obama and state-level administrators are trying to break the trend.
Once a world-leader, the United States has fallen to 12th among 36 developed nations in its number of citizens with college degrees between ages 25 and 34, according to a July report by the College Board. This number is even lower in North Carolina, in which only 36 percent of residents have college degrees compared with 37.8 percent nationally, according to the Census Bureau.
Gov. Bev Perdue’s administration is looking for North Carolina’s solution not just in re-examining college education itself, but in looking at the years before college even begins.
“Students must be well prepared at every age,” said Chrissy Pearson, spokeswoman for Perdue. “Preschool is just as important as sixth grade and 12th grade in preparing for college, community college, technical school or whatever path one chooses to follow.”
To address improving public education at all levels, the Perdue administration created the “Career and College: Ready, Set, Go!” program that aims to boost reading, writing and math, increase the number of students performing at grade level and expand the number of students taking college credits and receiving post-secondary degrees.
Perdue announced Tuesday that North Carolina will receive about $400 million in grant money as one of 10 winners in the federal “Race to the Top” program. The money will go in part to recruit and retain quality teachers and administrators, create a plan for low-performing schools and purchase handheld devices to help teachers continuously track student progress, The (Raleigh) News & Observer reported.
The issue has received national political attention for more than a year. President Barack Obama announced the American Graduation Initiative in July 2009, advocating for 5 million more college graduates by 2020. In an Aug. 9 speech at the University of Texas, Obama increased his goal, calling for 60 percent of Americans between ages 25 and 34 to have college degrees by 2020—an increase of at least 8 million more graduates.
In his Texas speech, Obama called education “the economic issue of our times.” Michael Schoenfeld, vice president of public affairs and government relations, said today’s weaker economy could significantly harm North Carolina’s university system.
“North Carolina has a strong history of serious commitment to public universities and can’t let the current economic problems lead to a crippling of one of the best systems in the country,” he said. “College has to be affordable through a combination of low tuition and assistance to the neediest students.”
Jacob Vigdor, director of graduate studies in the Sanford School of Public Policy and a professor of public policy and economics, said that the strongest growth in college enrollment is not at places like Duke or even the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, but at community colleges.
But Vigdor added that out of those who enter community college with the intent of receiving a two-year degree or transferring to a four-year university, more than half typically end up doing neither.
“The real trick to improving graduation rates is not to bring more people into college, but to get more people out at the other end,” he said.
Vigdor said that the problem of addressing college graduation rates is especially complex because of the number of factors that can lead a student to drop out.
“In some cases, students just can’t handle the coursework, which suggests that improving K-12 education would help a lot,” Vigdor said. “In other cases, students run into financial difficulties, or tough family situations, that make it hard to stay in school. This means that there is no single magic bullet solution that will magically turn college dropouts into [bachelor of arts] recipients. An array of strategies could help out: simplifying financial aid, reforming curricula at the high school level and below, offering more courses on study skills and other strategies for coping with the increased workload in college.”
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