State lost ground on 8 metrics including financial support for higher education
FRANKFORT, Ky. (Dec. 17, 2013) — A state-level annual accountability report for higher education and adult education shows Kentucky made gains on 17 performance indicators in 2011-12, exceeding targets a year in advance on four key metrics that will help transform Kentucky’s workforce to be more highly skilled, innovative and competitive.
As a whole, colleges and universities exceeded targets on the total number of degrees and credentials conferred, graduate degrees, STEM+H (science, technology, engineering, math and health) degrees and credentials, and transfers from the Kentucky Community and Technical College to four-year colleges and universities.
“This is exceptionally good news. Our campuses are moving forward for students and are committed to meeting and exceeding their goals. They are doing more, even as state support for higher education has declined,” said Council President Bob King.
Strong gains also were reported in the area of college readiness as a result of an aggressive statewide effort to establish a common definition of readiness and improve the delivery of developmental and bridge programming before and during college.
Produced by the Council on Postsecondary Education, the report highlights the system’s performance on state-level metrics included in “Stronger by Degrees: A Strategic Agenda for Kentucky Postsecondary and Adult Education.” The four priority areas of the agenda are college and career readiness, student success, research, economic and community development, and efficiency and innovation.
The system also is on track to meet 2014 goals in other key areas:
♦ college readiness of high school graduates
♦ associate degrees conferred
♦ associate graduation rate for low-income students
♦ online learning
Some progress was also reported in these areas:
♦ college readiness of college entrants
♦ number of GED graduates
♦ bachelor’s degrees conferred
♦ associate’s graduation rate
♦ bachelor’s graduation rate
♦ associate graduation rate for underprepared students
♦ associate graduation rate for underrepresented minority students
♦ externally-funded research and development
♦ educational attainment of adults (associate and above, ages 25-44)
Staff will revisit some of the targets with the campuses in cases where the target has been met and where the metric was revised, King said.
The detailed report shows where more progress is needed. The state held steady on the bachelor’s graduation rate for underrepresented minority students and degree productivity relative to education and related expenditures.
The state lost ground on eight metrics including three dealing with financial support for higher education — state appropriations for public higher education, grants to low-income students in excess of direct costs, and low-income students without grants.
The report and scorecard, as well as institutional and regional reports, are available on the council’s website at http://www.cpe.ky.gov/planning/.
Add Comment