IMPROVING GRADUATION RATES
By MARY PICKETT Billings Gazette | Posted: Thursday, September 24, 2009 10:40 pmBILLINGS - Montana can do more to improve college graduation rates, the leader of a nonprofit higher education organization said Thursday. Dennis Jones, president of the Boulder, Colo.-based National Center for Higher Education Management Systems, addressed the Montana Board of Regents, meeting here through Friday.
By 2020, President Barack Obama wants the United States to regain its place as the global leader in the proportion of college graduates. To meet that goal, the country needs to graduate 150,000 more students. Montana's share of that is 400 additional graduates a year, Jones said.
That will require not only increasing the number of students going to college, but improving graduation rates. Montana could improve in both areas.
The state ranks below the national average for the number of high school students going to college and is 45th in the country for the six-year graduation rate for bachelor's degrees. At a time when state revenues are down and many students and families are struggling financially, higher education must improve efficiency to reverse those trends.
Montana is getting a lot of "bang for the buck" already, Jones said, and outshines at least one of its neighbors when it comes to the number of degrees it grants for the money spent. Montana spends about $37,800 for each degree and certificate students earn in higher education in state schools. Wyoming pays about $79,700, more than twice than Montana.