Reducing Barriers to Postsecondary Education Educational Attainment Task Force November 14, 2012 Office of Performance Evaluations Amy Lorenzo Bryon Welch

Major Findings Barriers fall into three main areas – Academic readiness – Access – Affordability No accurate baseline on current education levels Long-term planning will require better coordination of education and workforce needs Reducing Barriers to Postsecondary Education2

Nine Recommendations Board of Education – Use and management of data – Scholarships – Strategic growth and partnerships Department of Education – Counselors Department of Labor – Data sharing Legislature – Financial support of postsecondary education Reducing Barriers to Postsecondary Education3

Measuring Postsecondary Education

Board of Education Goal By 2020, 60% of Idaho residents between the ages of 25 and 34 will have a college degree or certificate – Georgetown study suggested 61% of jobs will require postsecondary education in 2018 Board will measure goal beginning with programs that take at least one year to complete There is no current way to establish a baseline or measure progress using new criteria Reducing Barriers to Postsecondary Education5

Educational Attainment of Idahoans 25–34 Years Old, % 52.9% Board 60% Goal Reducing Barriers to Postsecondary Education6

Data Limitations No way to track one-year certificates Private institutions and proprietary schools will not report to longitudinal data system System will not be used to measure progress 29% of students in sample data will not be captured in system Public institutions have been tasked with increasing graduates, but no clear link with growth strategy and employment projections Reducing Barriers to Postsecondary Education7

RecommendationBoard of Education 4.1: To accurately set a baseline and measure progress, consider the following: – Which institutions or schools offer programs of at least one year? – Are those entities reporting to the board? If not, how will they be accounted for? – What data will the board use to determine current baseline and measure progress? Reducing Barriers to Postsecondary Education8

RecommendationBoard of Education 4.2: Establish performance measures and benchmarks to strategically increase the number of degrees awarded at public institutions – Formally coordinate with private institutions and proprietary schools – Link with recommendation 5.1 Reducing Barriers to Postsecondary Education9

Identifying Barriers

BarriersStudents Percent Responded Ability to pay for college83 Access to financial aid, such as grants or loans34 Access to scholarships31 Likelihood of getting a job once I complete additional education31 Insufficient scholarship amounts25 Fear or uncertainty about postsecondary academic expectations24 Poor academics while in high school21 Family or other obligations15 Lack of support from my parents or family12 Lack of interest in attending college11 When thinking about education after high school, what are the top three challenges you face in making decisions? (N=672)

BarriersCounselors and TRIO In your experience, what are the three most common barriers currently facing students in making decisions about postsecondary education? (N=76) Percent Responded Ability to pay for college71 Little or no parental support46 Fear or uncertainty about postsecondary academic expectations38 Poor academic performance while in high school34 Family or other obligations28 Insufficient scholarship amounts18 Access to financial aid, such as grants or loans17 Lack of awareness of the importance of college16 Other13 Lack of interest in attending college9 Access to scholarships3

Academic Readiness Current Efforts – Requiring college entrance exams Students can take SAT for free – Implementing Common Core Standard – Providing more advanced options AP Dual credit – Offering professional-technical preparation Reducing Barriers to Postsecondary Education13

Access Barriers – Insufficient parental support – High student-to-counselor ratio – Lack of statewide counselor coordinator Current efforts – College Access Challenge Grant – GEAR UP – TRIO – Career Information System (CIS) Reducing Barriers to Postsecondary Education14

Recommendations Department of Education 2.1: Dedicate a position to serve as a statewide K–12 counselor coordinator, particularly related to college and career information. 2.2: Take steps to decrease the student-to- counselor ratio, particularly for those positions that provide education and career counseling. Reducing Barriers to Postsecondary Education15

Recommendation–Board of Education 3.2: Work with the Legislature to create a strategy to financially support the growth of statewide outreach programs to increase college access that can be sustained in the absence of external financial resources. Reducing Barriers to Postsecondary Education16

Affordability Barriers – Tuition has increased faster than income – State-funded financial aid lower than neighboring states Current efforts – State scholarships are primarily merit based Promise scholarships – Promise A – Promise B No outcome data on recipients Reducing Barriers to Postsecondary Education17

RecommendationsBoard of Education 3.1: Work with the Legislature to review current appropriations for need-based scholarships and consider reallocating funds from merit- based scholarships or creating new scholarships that are primarily need based. 4.3: Collect data on scholarship recipients and track academic progress to better assess effectiveness of existing scholarships. Reducing Barriers to Postsecondary Education18

Education and Employment

Idaho Employment by Education and Training Level, 2002–2018

Understanding Employment Data Different definitions for postsecondary education Projections differ but follow similar trends – Department of Labor 2008 = 29.9%2018 = 30.6% – Georgetown University 2008 = 60.5%2018 = 61.2% Both projections indicate very little change over time Reducing Barriers to Postsecondary Education21

Tracking Graduates Into the Workforce Idaho does not track most postsecondary graduates into the work force Preliminary efforts in several areas – Statewide longitudinal data system – Formal data sharing agreements – WICHE pilot project Reducing Barriers to Postsecondary Education22

Linking Employment and Education Long-term approaches to consider: – Should Idaho first increase the number of college graduates in order to attract employers that require a more educated workforce? – Does Idaho need to first attract the employers requiring an educated workforce in order to incentivize more students to pursue postsecondary education? – Should coordinated education and employment initiatives take place simultaneously? Reducing Barriers to Postsecondary Education23

Recommendations Board of Education and Department of Labor 5.1: The Board of Education should develop a strategic plan for meeting its goal to produce the right types of graduates for the right types of jobs available in Idaho now and in the future. 5.2: The Board of Education should work with postsecondary institutions and the Department of Labor to track graduates of Idahos postsecondary institutions into the workforce. The Department of Labor should then enter into new or expand existing agreements to track Idahos postsecondary graduates in the workforce outside of Idaho. Reducing Barriers to Postsecondary Education24

Summary of Findings Barriers fall into three main areas – Academic readiness – Access – Affordability No accurate baseline on current education levels Long-term planning will require better coordination of education and workforce needs Reducing Barriers to Postsecondary Education25