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Seven Cities Launch Collaborative Efforts to Improve College Graduation Rates
PRNewswire via Yellowbrix
November 05, 2009
SEATTLE — The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation today announced $4 million in grants to the National League of Cities’ Institute for Youth, Education and Families, and seven cities to boost college graduation rates by better coordinating the services that colleges, schools and communities provide to students.
The grants will help cities and colleges in New York, Florida, Arizona, Ohio, and California dramatically increase the number of young people who earn a degree beyond high school. These grants recognize that successfully reaching that goal will require education, business, and civic leaders working together to coordinate and streamline the guidance and services young people need to get into, and through, college.
Enrollment at the nation’s 1,200 community colleges is at an all- time high, yet two-thirds of those attending will not graduate within three years. Often it’s not a question of effort. Rather, these students face multiple challenges: Many are not academically ready for college-level work; they juggle school and family responsibilities; and many must work full time while attending classes. Because the help that students need to overcome these obstacles comes from a range of agencies, it is critical to better understand how to coordinate assistance.
Last February, President Obama set a goal to again make America first in the world in the percentage of adults with a postsecondary credential. These cities are leading a national effort committed to exploring new ways to increase the number of young people who earn a postsecondary degree.
A coordinated effort to boost college graduation rates is increasingly critical to the long-term prosperity of our cities and our nation. A 2009 study by CEO for Cities found that if each of the nation’s 51 largest metropolitan areas improved the percentage of their populations with four-year degrees, the national GDP would increase by $166 billion a year.
“Cities have not traditionally been focused on postsecondary success, but that is changing,” said Donald Borut, executive director of the National League of Cities. “Recognizing that an educated workforce forms the underpinning of a vibrant local economy, municipal leaders have turned new attention toward boosting college completion rates. The partnerships in these seven cities will help maximize limited resources to establish the foundations for long-term growth and vitality.”
