Florida will need to boost its college graduation rates from its present 36 percent in 2009 to around 57 percent by 2020, if it intends to play its part in meeting a nationwide goal of making the U.S. once more, the country with the best-educated workforce and the highest proportion of college graduates in the world.
Speaking at the first annual Building a Grad Nation Summit on Tuesday, Vice President Joe Biden issued a call to all states and governors, reminding of President Obama’s goal for the U.S. to have the best-educated workforce and highest proportion of graduates in the world by 2020. Biden said in order for this to be realized, the country will have to increase the number of college graduated by 50 percent, turning out 8 million graduates by the end of the decade.
Biden also announced a new grant competition focused on helping institutions of high education boost completion rates, along with a ‘new college completion tool kit’ with suggested policies to help governors boost college graduation rates. The toolkit identifies seven no-cost or low-cost strategies that governors can use, fifteen related action steps, and a series of existing federal resource streams from which to draw. The strategies include aligning high school exit and college placement standards, linking state funding to college success in boosting completion rates, making it easier for students to transfer among colleges, and re-engaging adults with some college experience but no degree.
According to documents released by the U.S. Department of Education, Florida will need to increase the number of college graduates from the present 839,048 (in the age range 25-34 years-2009 figure) to around 1,555,000 graduates by 2020.
With Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s assault on education, including his proposed $1.75 billion in cuts to K-12 education in the next fiscal year and more cuts likely underway, it would be difficult for the state to attain any boost in graduation rates by the end of the decade.
America, which once led the world in the number of college graduates, has now fallen to ninth place.
See HERE a copy of the college completion toolkit.
