Pa. joins a push to boost college graduation

Pennsylvania is among 17 states that has joined a national initiative to boost college graduation rates over the next decade, officials announced yesterday.

Forty-three percent of Pennsylvanians ages 25 to 34 have earned college degrees even though more than 60 percent of jobs will require a degree in the next decade, education officials say. By 2020, Pennsylvania wants to raise its degree attainment to 60 percent.

That will be tough considering that only 35 percent of students enrolled in the state's four-year public colleges and fewer than two-thirds of those at four-year private colleges graduate on time.

"Pennsylvania boasts some of the finest colleges and universities in the nation, and we have made progress in making these institutions accessible and affordable to millions of students, but the number of students attaining college degrees falls woefully short of our nation's needs and our collective potential," Gov. Rendell said in a statement.

Under the national initiative, called Complete College America, participating states and individual state universities and community colleges will be required to set graduation-rate goals, develop a plan for meeting the goals, and report publicly each year on progress.

State-related schools, including Temple, Lincoln and Pennsylvania State Universities, also will be encouraged to participate, though not required to do so, said Michael Race, a spokesman for the state Education Department.

The initiative could help Mayor Nutter's goal of raising the city's college-degree attainment rate. When he took office in 2008, Nutter set a goal of doubling the percentage of city residents with a college degree, 18 percent, according to the 2000 census.

"The more that we can do to elevate this issue into the public awareness, it will give us more traction locally," said Lori Shorr, Nutter's chief education adviser.

The national organization, based in Indianapolis and Washington, is being run on a four-year, $12 million budget provided by five groups: the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Lumina Foundation for Education, Carnegie Corporation of New York, and the Ford Foundation. It started eight months ago.

How successful the process will be is unknown - states are not required to commit funding to the effort, and, while Rendell signed on, he leaves office after this year.

Stan Jones, president of Complete College America, says he expects participation to improve states' chances of qualifying for proposed federal funding for improving college-degree completion. Legislation that would release $4.5 billion over five years for states to improve college graduation rates has passed the House and is awaiting action in the Senate, he said.

New Jersey, where 46 percent of people 25 to 34 have a college degree, is not taking part. A spokesman for the governor's press office said the administration, which is new, would consider joining.