The nonprofit Atlanta-based Southern Regional Education Board - which suggests ways to improve education to politicians, educators and residents - released a report this week detailing how its 16 member states stack up in enrolling and retaining students in public colleges and universities.
University System of Georgia administrators and educators are familiar with the trend and already are working to keep more students in college, said Susan Herbst, the system's chief academic officer.
"It's right on target and exactly where we know we are," Herbst said of the study.
In 2008, Georgia was sixth in the nation for the number of high school graduates enrolling in public two- or four-year schools, with 72 percent of students starting a college education, said Jeff Gagne, the SREB's director of education policies.
About 11 percent more Georgia high school graduates enrolled in college from 2000 to 2008, Gagne said.
"That's a huge improvement and we're really proud of them," he said.
But only half of the students who started at a public four-year school in Georgia in 2002 graduated, according to the report. The country's average rate is 55 percent.
The graduation rate rises to 76 percent when SREB included students who graduated within six years, were still enrolled after six years or transferred to another institution.
Georgia students enrolling in two-year schools are even less likely to earn degrees than their counterparts across the country.
About 12 percent of students who started at a two-year Georgia college in 2005 graduated with a degree by 2007. Nationally, the rate is 20 percent.
"There's no question that we have a challenge," Herbst said.
Students might drop out because they aren't able to structure their time, don't become engaged on campus, or can't pay the bills for their education, she said.
The university system strives to keep students in school by using tactics they've seen work such as pairing students with an adviser who can help them overcome difficulties, engaging them through clubs and travel abroad and teaching them time management skills in small groups, she said.
"There's all kinds of mechanisms that we know work for keeping students in school," she said. "(And) knowing how to apply for that financial aid is vital."
Despite those programs, some students won't graduate although they enroll, because they're more comfortable serving in the military or attending a trade school, Herbst said.
The rigor of Georgia's education and promise of the HOPE scholarship has pushed more students to go on to college, said Matt Cardoza, spokesman for the state's Department of Education.
"From the state level all the way down to the classroom level, it's one of the things that we and teachers are working tirelessly on," Cardoza said.
It's possible that the number of high school graduates enrolling in college will remain high, even as state legislators look to tighten the budget, Cardoza said.
"I think it's difficult to make a direct correlation between budgets and student performance because as budgets have decreased over the last several years, we still have seen student achievement increase in almost every area," he said.
Source: Online Athens
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