ATLANTA — Too few low-income and underrepresented minority students in the nation enroll in college — and many do not complete degrees — a new report from two national education policy organizations shows, but the report cites some progress in Southern Regional Education Board states.
Charting a Necessary Path was released today by the Washington-based nonprofit organizations The Education Trust and the National Association of System Heads. The groups’ Access to Success Initiative includes 24 state university systems across the nation, including eight systems in SREB states.
The report gives new urgency to America’s need for more college-educated workers to compete in the global economy. President Obama has set a goal for America to regain the global lead in college-degree attainment by 2020.
Low-income and minority students enroll in and graduate from public four-year colleges at disproportionately lower rates than do other high school graduates, the report shows. In public two-year colleges, low-income and minority students are overrepresented but often do not transfer to four-year schools or finish credentials or degrees, the report says.
College access generally has increased in most SREB states in recent years, however: About 61 percent of the 16-state region’s and the nation’s recent college graduates enrolled in two- and four-year colleges in 2006, according to the SREB Fact Book on Higher Education.
"SREB states are focusing more efforts on improving students’ preparation for college, access to college and opportunities to complete two- and four-degrees and certificates. But we still have much work to do," said SREB Vice President Cheryl Blanco, who helps lead the organization’s work with states to improve higher education.
Still, on-time public college graduation rates generally are stagnant — about 55 percent nationally and 52 percent in SREB states. "We are not seeing the kinds of improvements in college graduation rates that we need across the region," Blanco said. "As the economy struggles, states and institutions should be working together more closely to increase students’ opportunities to enroll and succeed in all types of college."
SREB’s High Schools That Work and its college-readiness and degree completion programs work with states, institutions and K-12 schools to address the issues raised in today’s report. SREB also is working with states such as Kentucky and Oklahoma to urge adults with some college credit to return to school and finish degrees.
Three SREB states’ university systems were cited as national leaders in the report for having no "race gap" — or strong balance between the racial/ethnic background of recent high school graduates compared with college enrollees — were in SREB states, today’s report shows: the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning, the University of North Carolina System and the Tennessee Board of Regents schools. The Kentucky Council of Postsecondary Education schools were among five systems nationally that had no "race gap" for transfer students.
Among the success stories from SREB states highlighted in the report were the Tennessee Board of Regents schools — including that system’s flagships, the University of Memphis and Tennessee State University — for serving minority students well.
The university systems that participated in the report are "taking unprecedented responsibility for … dramatically improving student outcomes on their campuses," according to the sponsoring organizations. These systems have pledged to cut in half by 2015 the gaps in college-going and success rates that separate low-income and underrepresented minority students from their peers.
In the states included in the report, underrepresented minorities account for 36 percent of young high school graduates, although just 29 percent of college freshmen are from these groups. About 45 percent of low-income and underrepresented minority students entering as freshmen in participating states earn bachelor’s degrees within six years, compared with 57 percent of other students in these systems.
In two-year colleges, fewer than one-third of all freshmen in the systems complete a certificate or associate’s degree or transfer to a four-year college within the same system in four years, the report shows. For underrepresented minorities, the success rate is lower (24 percent) than for other students (38 percent).
Low transfer rates for two-year college students are a particular concern: Only 12 percent of underrepresented minority freshmen — and 16 percent of all others — transfer from two-year colleges into bachelor’s degree programs in the system within four years. Although most community college freshmen intend to earn a bachelor’s degree, relatively few students who enter the systems’ community colleges earn bachelor’s degrees, the report says.
For complete details on the report, visit www.edtrust.org. Contact SREB Communications for further analysis on college access and success in your state.
The Southern Regional Education Board, or SREB, based in Atlanta, was created in 1948 by Southern governors and legislatures to help leaders in education and government work cooperatively to advance education and improve the social and economic life of the region. SREB has 16 member states: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. More information is available online at www.sreb.org.
