Presentation for the Leading the Way Compact Forum West Virginia Higher Education Commission Laura W. Perna

Transcription

1 Promoting College Access For All Students Presentation for the Leading the Way Compact Forum West Virginia Higher Education Commission Laura W. March 31, 2014

2 Improving Educational Attainment Is One of the Most Pressing Issues of Our Time

3 Higher Education Is Increasingly Important To Individual AND Societal Well-Being Salaries Increase with Educational Attainment Source: Carnevale, A., Smith, N., & Strohl, J. (2010). Help wanted. Washington, DC: Georgetown Center for Workforce and the Economy.

4 Available Jobs Increasingly Require Higher Education Source: Carnevale, A., Smith, N., & Strohl, J. (2010). Help wanted. Washington, DC: Georgetown Center for Workforce and the Economy.

5 Educational Attainment is the Result of A Longitudinal Process Prepare Apply Enroll Engage Learn / Persist / Complete

6 College Enrollment Rates of Recent High School Graduates Are Declining in West Virginia 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% In-state Overall 20% 10% 0% Source: West Virginia Report Card 2013.

7 Attention Only to the Average Masks Differences Across Groups

8 College Enrollment Rates Are Higher for Women than Men Source: Baum, S., Ma, J., & Payea, K. (2013). Education Pays. Washington, DC: College Board.

9 College Enrollment Rates Increase with Family Income Source: Baum, S., Ma, J., & Payea, K. (2013). Education Pays. Washington, DC: College Board.

10 Among Those Who Enroll: Completion Rates Increase With Family Income Outcomes by Family Income Five Years After First Enrolling, Bachelor's Associate's Certificate Enrolled Not enrolled Highest quartile rd quartile nd quartile Lowest quartile Independent % 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Source: Baum, S., Ma, J., & Payea, K. (2013). Education Pays. Washington, DC: College Board.

11 College Enrollment Rates Vary Based on Race/Ethnicity Source: Baum, S., Ma, J., & Payea, K. (2013). Education Pays. Washington, DC: College Board.

12 Racial/Ethnic Diversity of the U.S. Population Is Increasing Asian Black American Indian Hispanic White Source: WICHE (2012). Knocking on the college door. Boulder, CO: Author.

13 What Do We Know About How to Improve College Access and Success?

14 Most of What We Know is Based on Traditional Students Source: Baum, S., Ma, J., & Payea, K. (2013). Education Pays. Washington, DC: College Board.

15 The College Enrollment Decision: Students Weigh the Benefits and Costs

16 Multiple Forces Limit and Promote Higher Education Attainment Academics Money Support & Info College Access & Completion Source: Derived from Perna, L. W. (2006). Studying college choice: A proposed conceptual model. In J. C. Smart (Ed.), Higher Education: Handbook of theory and research, Vol. XXI (pp ). Springer.

17 Improving Higher Education Attainment Requires Attention to Context Family Academics Money High School State and Federal Support & Info College College Access & Completion Source: Derived from Perna, L. W. (2006). Studying college choice: A proposed conceptual model. In J. C. Smart (Ed.), Higher Education: Handbook of theory and research, Vol. XXI.

18 Worrisome Trends

19 24% Trend 1: Academic Readiness for College Is Often Inadequate Percentage of First-Year Undergraduates Who Took At least one Remedial Course in % 26% 15% 13% 2-year public 4-year public 4-year private Very selective Open admission Source: National Center for Education Statistics (2013, January). First-year undergraduate remedial coursetaking. Statistics in brief. Washington, DC: Author.

20 Stratification of Academic Resources Family Enrichment Expenditures on Children: 1972 to 2002 Source: Reardon (2012, November). Income, inequality, and educational outcomes: U.S. and international evidence. Presentation at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA.

21 Differential Access to Academic Resources In K-12 Education Percentage of 2009 Public H.S. Graduates Who Earned Credits in Dual Credit, AP, or IB Courses 49% 37% 34% < 25% 26% to 50% More than 50% % Students Eligible for Free/Reduced Lunch Source: NCES (2012). Digest of Education Statistics Washington, DC: Author.

22 Potential Improvements in College Readiness?

23 Trend 2: Shifting Responsibility for Paying College Costs

24 Increasing Privatization of Higher Education Note: Dollars adjusted by 2012 HECA, Cost of Living Adjustment, and Enrollment Mix Index. Source: State Higher Education Executive Officers. SHEF FY2012.

25 Growth in Tuition and Fees Source: College Board (2013). Trends in College Pricing 2013.

26 Increasing Use of Loans To Pay College Costs 100% Percent of Undergraduates Borrowing: to % 60% 40% 20% For-profit 4-year private 4-year public 2-year public 0% Source: National Center for Education Statistics (2011). Trends in student financing of undergraduate education: Selected years. Washington, DC: Author.

27 Trend 3: Changing Higher Education Options Distribution of Total Enrollment in Four-Year Degree-Granting Institutions by Institutional Type 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Public 4-year Private NFP 4-year For-profit 4-year Source: National Center for Education Statistics (2012). Digest of Education Statistics. Washington, DC: Author.

28 College Destinations Vary By Family Income Source: Baum, S., Ma, J., & Payea, K. (2013). Education Pays. Washington, DC: College Board.

29 Trend 4: Minimal Changes In Availability of H.S. Counselors Source: Hughes, K. (2012). The college completion agenda 2012, Progress report. College Board Advocacy & Policy Center.

30 Trend 5: Increasing Attention to Finding the Silver Bullet

31 Is Stratification of Higher Education Opportunity Inevitable?

32 What are Effective Strategies for Raising Attainment and Closing Gaps Across Groups? Perna, L.W., & Jones, A. (Eds., 2013). The state of college access and completion: Improving college success for students from underrepresented groups. New York, NY: Routledge

33 Recommendations (The State of College Access and Completion) 1. Improve academic readiness for college. 2. Improve alignment across and within sectors and levels 3. Improve college affordability 4. Ensure early knowledge of college and aid 5. Adapt approaches to reflect diversity of students, institutions, and state and other contexts 6. Collect and use data to monitor college access and completion and refine policies and practices

34 The Role of State Policy in Improving Attainment

35 What We Did Georgia Illinois Maryland Texas Washington States Data Sources Documents Reports Existing data Interviews Case study reports Cross-case analysis Products

36 Educational Attainment Varies Across States 55% 45% % Adults with College Degrees (2008) Annual % Increase Needed to Meet 55% Goal by % 25% 15% 5% -5% Massachusetts Connecticut New Hampshire Colorado North Dakota Minnesota New Jersey Maryland New York Vermont Virginia Hawaii Washington Rhode Island Illinois Kansas Nebraska Utah South Dakota Iowa California Oregon Wisconsin Pennsylvania US Montana Delaware North Carolina Maine Florida Alaska Georgia Wyoming Michigan Missouri Ohio Idaho South Carolina Arizona New Mexico Indiana Texas Alabama Oklahoma Tennessee Nevada Mississippi Kentucky Louisiana Arkansas West Virginia Source: Kelly (2010)

37 Educational Attainment in West Virginia is Higher Among Younger than Older Adults Percentage of Adults With at Least an Associate s Degree, 2008 Nation West Virginia 38% 37% 28% 24% 25 to to 64 Source: Kelly (2010)

38 State-Specific Stories Illinois Washington Maryland Texas Georgia A story of decline State leadership vacuum Much accomplished, much at stake Hard choices ahead Perpetuating disparity

39 Cross-State Conclusions Source: Perna & Finney (2014).

40 Strategic Use of Available Fiscal Resources

41 Academic Preparation and Smooth Movement of Students K12 Education Four-Year Degree Two-Year College

42 Optimization of System Capacity

43 Policy Leadership and Steering

44 Make Equity a Priority

45 The only thing more expensive than education is ignorance. Benjamin Franklin

46 Alliance for Higher Education and Democracy