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story recently reported, two of the most rapidly growing Tose colleges and states understand what the Massachusetts
populations of students on college campuses across the country Department of Higher Education (2014) noted in this year’s
are low-income and minority students; yet these are also two of progress report on our statewide Vision Project: “If African-
the groups of students least likely to complete college (Tough, American and Latino/a adults possessed college degrees at the
2014). Tough writes, “Whether a student graduates or not seems same rate as White adults (60%), Massachusetts would easily
to depend today almost entirely on just one factor – how much meet its need for more college graduates by 2025.”
money his or her parents make. To put it in blunt terms: Rich And what about all those STEM graduates we need in order to
kids graduate; poor and working-class kids don’t.” stay competitive with the rest of the world?
About a quarter of college freshmen whose families are in the Tere is no doubt the world economy and workforce has become
lower half of the income distribution will complete a bachelor’s more technologically advanced, but there is growing skepticism
degree by the time they are 24, while almost 90% of freshmen that a million more STEM degrees are what we need to keep up.
from families in the top income quartile will fnish their degree
(Tough, 2014). In Falling Behind?: Boom, Bust & the Global Race for Scientifc
Talent, Harvard Law School Professor Michael Teitelbaum
Similarly, minority enrollment in higher education has been (2014) explains that that the United States has been through
climbing rapidly, while completion rates still lag behind. at least fve STEM-related cycles since World War II. Each
According to a Diverse magazine report on recent U.S. time, Teitelbaum writes, concerns about a perceived shortage
Department of Education statistics, between 2009 and 2011, the of STEM workers led to action by the federal government to
nation’s Black undergraduate population rose 8.5% and Latino stimulate STEM research and education. Ten, afer the panic
undergraduates jumped 22%, while White college enrollment and stimulus ended, we were lef with too many STEM degrees
increased only 2.7% (Roach, 2014). and not enough STEM jobs (think Sputnik and the technology

In a twist that may have been unexpected for many, for the frst race of the 1960s, followed by the economic bust of the 1970s).
time in our nation’s history the college-going rate of Hispanic Instead of “falling behind,” Teitelbaum (2014) suggests the
students is now higher than both white and black students. United States already has a surplus of people with STEM
Yes, you read that correctly: In 2012, seven out of ten Hispanic education–perhaps as much as twice as many as the workforce
high school graduates went to college. will demand in the coming years.
And there are more of those high school graduates. According to So if it still seems that the higher education “Winter of
the Pew Research Hispanic Center, the high school dropout rate Discontent” you have been hearing about is howling outside
for Hispanics has fallen by half over the last ten years, from 28% your frozen window panes, take heart:
in 2000 to 14% in 2011 (Fry, 2014). A college education remains one of the best investments you
Te optimistic news is that all those colleges, philanthropists, can make.
and foundations focused on “closing the gaps” in student success More Americans are college-educated than ever before in
for at-risk students are beginning to have an impact. While our history.
minority enrollment was climbing between 2009-2011, at the We are beginning to “close the gaps” in college success for
same time, six-year graduation rates for Latino, White, and Black at-risk students.
students increased by 4.7%, 2.1% and 2%, respectively (Fry, 2014).
And the rest of the world still looks to America as a higher
It is nowhere near enough, but it is progress. And encouragingly, education leader: A recent report from the Pew Charitable
“closing the gaps” for at-risk students has become a regular Trusts (2014) revealed that the number of foreign students
feature of statewide higher education system planning and studying in the United States has skyrocketed, with more than
even resource allocation. According to the National Conference 886,000 enrolled on American campuses last year. Tat is an
of State Legislatures (2014), 25 states now have some kind all-time high and more than twice the number of international
of performance-based funding for their public colleges and students 20 years ago.
universities, and many of those, like Massachusetts, where my
college is located, include metrics for how well institutions are We have work to do–and we can be optimistic about our future.
serving at-risk students.

LEADERSHIP Vol. 20.3 Winter 2015 21

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