More college degrees needed in the South
September 30, 2010 at 10:35 am 2 comments
Interesting that two reports are coming out in the same week saying that the South needs to increase the number of college graduates. Based on our earlier discussion on the post about crises, this is arguing that there’s not enough people under the college-level hump, leaving alone of whether the quality of what’s being produced is “above threshold.”
The nation as a whole, and the South in particular, have to do a better job of increasing the number of adults with college degrees or certificates.
That is the conclusion of two recent reports, including “No Time to Waste: Policy Recommendations for Increasing College Completion,” released today by the Southern Regional Education Board.
“By 2018, the United States will fall far short of the number of new college degrees needed for an emerging economy that increasingly depends on workers with postsecondary education,” board President Dave Spence said in a letter introducing the report.
One way of meeting the need, the report says, is tying state funding for higher education institutions to the rates at which students complete courses, certificate and degree programs — something that is not currently done in most states, including Georgia and South Carolina…
The Lumina Foundation released a report last week saying the entire country has a long way to go to meet what it calls the “Big Goal”: having 60 percent of adults ages 25 to 64 hold a postsecondary certificate or degree by 2025. The Southern Regional Education Board advocates for the same goal.
via More college degrees needed | The Augusta Chronicle.
Entry filed under: Uncategorized. Tags: higher education, public policy.
Computing Ed Research - Guzdial's Take 
1.
Alan Kay | September 30, 2010 at 10:47 am
The very proper British lady in London 25 years ago said to me “You Americans have the best high school education in the world — what a pity you have to got to college to get it!”
The real question I have is what percentage of this need could have been fulfilled in high school and/or through a technical/trade school?
This question is not a replacement for “the knowledge and skills that citizenship demands” (which is of a higher order than many jobs require).
Cheers,
Alan
2.
gasstationwithoutpumps | September 30, 2010 at 1:33 pm
I too question the wisdom of increasing the number of college degrees with no thought to the quality of education they represent. We graduate many more students from high school than we used to, but many end up with only the equivalent of an 8th grade education.
Like reducing the achievement gap by keeping the top students from achieving, we have to be careful when we formulate our goals, lest we attain the stated goals without actually improving anything.