LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A report by the Arkansas Department of Higher Education indicates fewer than 38 percent of those who entered the state’s public universities in 2004 had earned a degree within six years.
The state’s six-year graduation rate has been below 40 percent for the past five years, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported Sunday. The annual six-year report is used to compare the universities in Arkansas with those in other states.
U.S. Census figures from December indicate that in the latter half of the past decade, Arkansas ranked second-to-last nationally — ahead of only West Virginia — with only 18.9 percent of residents over age 25 having earned at least a bachelor’s degree. The national average is 27.5 percent.
“I think we all know we’re not where we want to be,” says Shane Broadway, the interim director of the Higher Education Department.
In January, Gov. Mike Beebe said state higher education leaders should have a goal of doubling the number of state residents with college degrees by 2025. Beebe and other state leaders believe if Arkansas has more residents with college degrees, the state’s quality of life will improve through higher pay and it will be easier to attract new businesses.
Broadway says policies introduced by state lawmakers and legislative leaders should influence graduation rates. Those policies include allowing students to take noncredit remedial course work in a subject while also completing for-credit courses in the same subject.
