The percentage of people living in Michigan who are at least 25 years old and have at least a bachelor's degree continues to increase, yet Michigan's statistics are low compared to other states, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's recent study.
In 2003, 23.3 percent of Michigan residents who were 25 or older were college graduates, an increase from 21.8 percent in 2000. The percentages keep Michigan in the bottom third of the nation, however.
In comparison, 87.6 percent graduated from high school in 2003, an increase from 83.4 percent in 2000, which places the state in the top half of the nation.
"We don't have a college admission problem, we have a college retention problem," said Martin Ackley, spokesman for the Michigan Department of Education. "We need to help kids get all the way through."
In June, Gov. Jennifer Granholm appointed various government, education and business leaders to Lt. Governor John Cherry's Commission on Higher Education and Economic Growth, which plans to increase the number of college degrees earned.
The commission held its first meeting on July 14 and organized different work groups, who will study what they think affects college graduation rates. In September, the commission will reconvene and hold public testimony.
As one of the commissioners, MSU Provost and President-designate Lou Anna Simon said the number of college graduates needs to increase in order for people to find good jobs. The number of students graduating from MSU with a bachelor's degree increased from 6,959 in 2000 to 7,481 in 2003.
"What we have to do is to be sure an increasing number of Michigan students in high schools have an aspiration to go to college," Simon said. "It's also important for people graduating from college to be in a curriculum that makes them internationally competitive."
A flourishing economy depends on the number of people receiving a college education, said Mary Dettloff, spokeswoman for Lt. Governor John Cherry. People aren't only competing for jobs with those living in the state, but also with people from all over the country and world.
"The economy is shifting so that you need more education - more technical training today than you did 30 years ago, so the increase in the use of technology in the work place is an important factor," Dettloff said.
The interest in attending post-secondary education is high but the number of people who actually go on to college or vocational programs is low, Dettloff said. On the national level, 90 percent of high school students indicate interest, around 40 percent go on to college, while 18 percent finish with a bachelor's degree.
"We need to look at the way we can address that drop off of numbers on those attending and completing college."
