This week, the new chairman of the National Governor’s Association (NGA), Joe Manchin III, Governor of West Virginia, announced a plan to create a common set of measures to monitor progress and compare states.
The report, Complete to Compete: Common College Completion Metrics recommends the common higher education measures that all states should collect and report publicly.
According to the NGA website:
Comparable, reliable metrics are essential for states under current fiscal constraints. Information on the progress toward, and degree completion of, all students in higher education allows state leaders to gauge whether policies are successful and helps inform future funding decisions. NGA convened a Work Group on Common College Completion Metrics to make recommendations on the common higher education measures that states should collect and report publicly.
The Work Group on Common College Completion Metrics, convened by the NGA, recommends four outcome metrics and six progressive metrics.
Outcome Metrics
- Degrees and certificates awarded
- Graduation rates
- Transfer rates
- Time and credits to degree
Progressive Metrics
- Enrollment in remedial education
- Success beyond remedial education
- Success in first-year college courses
- Credit accumulation
- Retention rates
- Course completion
Governor Manchin stated “we’re facing a generation of students that is projected to have lower educational attainment than their parents…an alarming stat”.
Manchin’s comment is well supported. The U.S. ranks 10th in the percentage of young adults with college degrees according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. In addition, both the Obama Administration and other higher education focused organizations, such as the Lumina Foundation for Education, have both set laudable goals for increasing the portion of Americans with college degrees.