Dive Temporary:

  • The past two decades saw practically common enhancement in the charge of working-age older people with a college diploma or credential, in accordance to new info from the Lumina Foundation, a nonprofit centered on postsecondary schooling. 
  • Throughout the U.S., the share of grownups grew to 53.7% in 2021, up from 51.9% in 2019. That’s the major two-12 months achieve since Lumina commenced its A Much better Country report in 2009.
  • Just about every state also noticed improved degree attainment premiums around the past two years, a 1st for the once-a-year report. Washington, D.C. held the greatest attainment rate in 2021 at 72.4%, adopted by Massachusetts at 62.1% and Utah at 61.1%.

Dive Insight:

These days, 48 states have set postsecondary attainment aims. When the undertaking very first commenced, only Hawaii had established a target, in accordance to Courtney Brown, Lumina’s vice president of affect and organizing.

“Acquiring far more states emphasis on attainment is one explanation that we’re seeing this above the program of the last 15 a long time,” she mentioned throughout a press meeting Monday. “None of this is an right away correct. You can find no way we can mechanically boost diploma attainment in a single calendar year.”

States are also looking further than quantity and are wondering about diploma quality, according to Brown.

“It really is not ample to just have a piece of paper,” Brown explained. “They want to make sure that it does have labor current market price, that there is a work on the other conclude.”

Lumina pulled information on degree attainment from the U.S. Census and Georgetown University’s Middle on Education and the Workforce.

In addition to regional advancements, the nonprofit located diploma attainment among the grown ups ages 25 to 64 rose across all races and ethnicities.

In 2021, the amount of Hispanic and Latino adults with levels rose pretty much 2.5 proportion factors to 27.8%. Black adults saw an practically 2 level increase to 34.2%. These figures do not include certificates or credentials, as Lumina does not have race or ethnicity data for nondegree applications.

Regardless of these gains, both equally Black and Hispanic adults are even now perfectly under the nationwide degree attainment normal of 45.7%.

Brown lauded the nationwide improvements in educational attainment but stated there is certainly nevertheless a prolonged way to go.

By 2025, Lumina aims to see 60% of older people earning a credential following higher faculty. Though the common has risen almost 16 proportion points considering the fact that 2009, that rate of progress is not plenty of to access the intention, the report claimed.

“This is a thrupoint, not an endpoint,” Brown claimed. “We imagine we need to have to maintain pushing on this to make certain that we have a much better country.”