MELA Meeting Minutes 2003 - 2017

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11.9% ninth to 12th - no diploma 29.8% high school grad - including ged

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24.3% some college, no degree

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9% associate

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13.4% bachelor

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6.9% grad or professional degree

US Degree Shortages...a national issue 

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Concern about our international competitiveness  current administration foci  accountability thorugh degree attainment 

workforce development (two-year college initiative)

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Lumina, Gates, and other Foundations  Big degree targets - 60% by 2025  Re-focusing on degree completion  We can't get there without changing current models and policies  Change from funding on FTE to Completion 

Need to increase graduation rates by 4.2% annually to meet 60% goal by 2025  Need to reach out to the 24.3% of people with some college, no degree to get them to complete  SREB has the lowest percentage of people with associate's degree or higher in the country o SREB's Guiding Principles  Online or blended delivery  Accelerated (compressed terms)  Institutions become "adult" friendly  Supportive credit transfer/PLA (prior learning assessment) o Western Governors University - competency based, credit for life experiences (must demonstrate competency/skill) pay in blocks, not by semester. o MS - 362,397 some degree, no college (in 2008) o Returing adults seek"  more flexible programs that meet their needs  time, location, length, delivery formats  Pathways to degrees that give some hope of completion  Services designed to meet the needs of adult learners (re-designed or new)  More friendly policies  credit transfer/acceptance  prior learning assessment opportunities  financial aid assistance for non traditional learners  acknowledge the importance of adults in their mission statements and strategic plans  develop early warning systems to identify struggling adult students  make courses easily accessible  provide financial ssistane  assess their programs and disaggreagate data for low income populations  find faculty who know how to teach adults effectively

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