State Lags Nation In College Graduates
Wisconsin's Percent Of Graduates 25 Or Older
Puts It In The Bottom Half Of States.
Tuesday, June 29, 2004
Todd Richmond Associated Press
Wisconsin ranked in the bottom half of the nation in the number of
residents with four-year college degrees, according to
a U.S. Census Bureau survey prepared for release Tuesday.
The survey estimated that 24.1 percent
of Wisconsin residents 25 or older had a bachelor's
degree or better. The national estimate was 27.2 percent, continuing a
decades-long rise.
The survey found about 32.7 percent of Minnesota residents 25 or older hold college
degrees.
University of Wisconsin-System policy
and research associate vice president Frank Goldberg said college graduates
around the nation ignore Wisconsin's declining manufacturing industries,
opting instead for higher-end jobs in other states.
"The problem has been in
attracting graduates to the state," Goldberg said. "Here is Wisconsin sitting between two major economic
engines in Chicago and Minneapolis."
But Madison had the lowest percentage of people 25
or older without a high school diploma, according to a quality of life study of
the country's 100 largest cities release this month by the State University of
New York Downstate Medical Center. The city also had the highest percentage of
residents 25 or older who had attended at least some college.
University of Wisconsin System President Katherine Lyall has created a committee of
representatives from the state's technical college system and the UW System to
work on generating more degrees. Some of the suggestions have included
streamlining credit transfer policies.
State Rep. Rob Kreibich,
R-Eau Claire, chairman of the Assembly Colleges and Universities Committee, plans to
push legislation during the next session that would establish a tax credit for Wisconsin graudates
who agree to stay in the state for five years.
The UW System should help
nontraditional adult students get four-year degrees rather than associate
degrees, perhaps through weekend courses, Kreibich
said.
"That's where we can boost the
number (of in-state graduates) the quickest. These people want to stay
here," he said.
Survey highlights
A new U.S. Census Bureau survey
indicates Wisconsin ranked in the bottom half of the nation in the percentage
of people 25 or older with college degrees in 2003. Here are highlights of the
survey's estimates for the Upper Midwestern states. The Census Bureau cautions
that margins of error in each state's findings make rankings and head-to-head
comparisons unreliable.
* Percentage of people 25 or older with
bachelor's degrees or higher:
|
Illinois
|
28.1 percent
|
|
Iowa
|
24.6 percent
|
|
Michigan
|
23.3 percent
|
|
Minnesota
|
32.7 percent
|
|
Wisconsin
|
24.1 percent
|
* Percentage of people 25 or older with
high school diplomas:
|
Illinois
|
85.9 percent
|
|
Iowa
|
89.7 percent
|
|
Michigan
|
87.6 percent
|
|
Minnesota
|
91.6 percent
|
|
Wisconsin
|
88.6 percent
|
Source: U.S. Census Bureau's "Educational
Attainment in the United States: 2003"