Productivity
The United States is one of only two nations in which the current generation has attained less education than their parents' generation. The percentage of college-educated individuals between the ages of 25-34 is approximately 40 percent—the same percentage for people between the ages of 55-64.
In the next decade, the United States must produce at least 15 million more postsecondary degree holders to fill new jobs and replace those that will become available as baby boomers—adults born between 1946 and 1964—retire. It is unlikely, however, that our current higher education system will be able to meet this need and demand.
Lumina's priorities strategies to get more Americans into and through higher education will:
- Pilot new approaches to define, measure and increase effectiveness and productivity in higher education.
- Share learning from pilots with states and higher education institutions to help promising approaches become adopted more quickly.
- Support creation or expansion of alternative delivery systems for higher education that incorporate new technologies, competency-based approaches and other innovations.
Shifts in public policy are integral to raising college-attainment rates in the United States.
A growing body of evidence suggests that certain policy levers are the key to producing more and better college graduates. These levers include the implementation of new higher education funding formulas that reward institutions for students' progress toward and completion of certificates and degrees and the creation of statewide councils to identify and share cost-saving practices across college campuses. More » (Four Steps to Finishing First in Higher Education PDF | 616k | 6 pages)
The nation needs to work harder and faster to educate enough college graduates to sustain its economic and social vitality.
Creating employment opportunities that pay family-supporting wages depends on increasing the number of individuals who complete postsecondary education programs very rapidly, especially programs that offer degrees and credentials linked to high-demand, high-wage occupations. Accelerated Associate's degree programs, which have been piloted by various states and institutions, are proving to help students earn quality credentials with real value in the new economy. More » (Step 3: Expanding and Strengthening Lower-Cost, Nontraditional Education Options Through Modified Regulations | 588k | 6 pages)
States can increase the likelihood that students will complete high school and earn college degrees by focusing on successful policy and practice at each transition point in the educational pipeline.
As states seek to advance a college productivity agenda for their residents, it's important to consider two parallel educational pipelines: one for students of traditional college age (ages 18 to 24) and one for re-entry adults who are returning to postsecondary education or training. To that end, four key transition points mark students' progress in each pipeline: 1. Preparation, typically via high school diploma or General Education Development (GED) Test; 2. Entry into higher education; 3. Persistence in higher education; and 4. Completion of higher education in a timely manner. More » (Good Policy, Good Practice | PDF | 253k | 61 pages)
State funding for higher education should focus on performance, not just enrollment.
Most state funding formulas and appropriations for higher education are based on input measures such as enrollment. Funding approaches that focus less on enrollment numbers and more on student success can motivate institutions to pay greater attention to the quality of instruction, as well as help more students receive high-quality degrees and credentials. More » (Step 2: Rewarding Students for Completing Courses and Degree or Certificate Programs | PDF | 707k | 6 pages)
States play a vital role in reducing the need for developmental education.
Too many students who enroll in community college are not on track for success. Sixty percent of students who attend two-year colleges must take developmental coursework. State policy has a critical role in developing conditions to help underprepared students remedy their academic deficiencies. These strategies may include: Setting and broadly communicating college-readiness standards, providing early assessment opportunities for high school students, and ensuring that high school and college-entrance standards and expectations are aligned. More » (Setting Up Success in Developmental Education: How State Policy Can Help Community Colleges to Improve Student Outcomes | PDF | 1M | 34 pages)
An important element of productivity reform is the development of statewide databases that can track student progress across educational institutions.
All too often, states have inadequate or misleading data on the performance of their postsecondary institutions. The lack of reliable measures impedes the ability of state leaders to allocate funds appropriately, measure the progress of postsecondary performance over time, encourage successful practices and discourage waste in the postsecondary system, and protect the future of the state economy by maintaining a healthy postsecondary system. More » (Measuring Student Achievement at Postsecondary Institutions | PDF | 401k | 11 pages)
Hispanics are the fastest-growing minority group in the United States, yet their college-degree attainment levels remain among the lowest.
Achieving the nation's degree-completion goals is unattainable without producing more Latino graduates who can succeed in a competitive workforce. Many college and university programs that are proven to accelerate Latino success currently exist across the country. Replication or expansion of these efforts can help states drive a more productive higher education system to improve degree completion and create more competitive workforce. More » (Growing What Works database)
Most students who fail to graduate don't get financial help from family or the system itself.
Some 2.8 million students enroll in some form of higher education each fall. Of the students who enroll in two-year institutions, one in five graduate within three years. At four-year colleges, two in five students complete their degrees within six years. In a recent Public Agenda survey on the factors that might help young people return to college and finish, responses ranged from allowing part-time students to qualify for financial aid, offering more courses on weekends and evenings, cutting costs and providing child care. More » (With their whole lives ahead of them | PDF | 1.4M | 52 pages)
Information about the cost-effectiveness of higher education is critical when resources are limited and demand for more college-educated people is growing.
Current data about institutional spending in relation to the performance of campus programs are unavailable for most college campuses. This means institutions have no real context for determining the cost-effectiveness of student success programs compared with other options for increasing degree attainment. In 2007, Lumina recruited 13 colleges and universities to participate in a pilot effort known as Investing in Student Success. The project's goal was to develop, test, and standardize tools that document the relationship between program costs and student results. With this information, institutions will be better informed to make data-driven decisions about how to invest limited dollars in ways that help more students succeed. More » (Calculating Cost-Return on Investments in Student Success | PDF | 1.2M | 24 pages)
In order for states to maximize their existing investments in higher education, states must do a better job of enacting policies that encourage students to transfer from two- to four-year institutions without repeating courses or losing time in the process.
Several states have sought to increase transfers through policy strategies that include: Common examinations for basic skills and common cut scores for placement into college-level work; statewide articulation agreements that guarantee transfer to four-year institutions for students at two-year institutions who complete lower- division general education requirements and an associate's degree or a specified transfer curriculum; and counseling and advising mechanisms and tools that reduce the likelihood students will have to take additional courses in order to be transfer-ready. More » (Good Policy, Good Practice | PDF | 253k | 61 pages)
Bringing a customer focus to higher education would empower students as customers and, especially for low-income students, provide information and support to make postsecondary education a viable option amid their work and life responsibilities.
In most sectors of the economy, customer focus is paramount, as it should be in education, too. Customer focus could yield a more student-centric system through the development and dissemination of user-friendly "truth-in-education" information that helps students make "best-fit" choices regarding which education provider to select based on customer preferences. Those preferences include academic quality, price, convenience, learning style, beginning education level and the anticipated return on their investment in education. More » (Putting the Customer First in College | PDF | 129k | 6 pages)
The way in which higher education prepares students for the future has changed.
Emerging technologies are altering how teachers teach and students learn. It is incumbent upon academia to not only adapt alternative teaching and learning practices to more effectively meet the needs of today's learners but also embrace emerging technologies as a means to achieve key institutional goals. More » (The Horizon Report 2010 edition | PDF | 326k | 40 pages)
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