Home › Education › Education: College
University graduates in U.S. decline
Report also shows income, race gaps in college attendance
Download this story as a podcast!
State report card
The state report card grades states in six overall performance categories. Here is how California ranked:
Preparation: C+.
Participation: C.
Affordability: C-.
Completion: B-.
Benefits: B+.
Learning: Incomplete.
Source: Measuring Up 2008 report
Eye on Education
Find the latest in local education news along with links to test scores, school rankings, tips on testing and homework, along with our Q&A section "Ask Jean" on our education Web site, VenturaCountyStar.com/education.Go to the page »
STORY TOOLS 
More from Education: CollegeThe United States, once a world leader in producing university graduates, is falling behind other countries in getting students ready for, into and through college.
Beyond that, there is still a significant gap in who goes to college and who doesn't — a gap based on race, income and geography.
Those are key findings from "Measuring Up 2008," a national report card that grades states on measures such as college preparation, participation, affordability and completion. States' grades are based on how they perform when compared with the top-rated states in each category.
The report, released today, is issued every two years by the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education.
The findings are especially troubling as the United States fights to remain competitive in today's global economy, said Pat Callan, president of the center. Internationally, the United States has fallen to 10th in the percentage of young adults who have an associate degree or higher.
In addition, baby boomers, the best-educated generation in U.S. history, are retiring, creating a need for more college graduates, Callan said.
"We've made some modest gains, but that progress does not begin to match the challenges we face, or the progress other countries are making," he said.
One of those challenges is the cost of college, which continues to rise, even as family income has flattened. Students from well-off families are far more likely to go to college than students from poor households, according to the report.
Among families earning $100,000 or more, 91 percent of students go to college. That number drops to 78 percent among middle-income families ($50,000 to $100,000). And for families earning less than $20,000 a year, it's 52 percent.
"We need a new social contract about tuition," Callan said. "It's a political football that discourages low-income people from attending college and middle-income people from saving for it."
California got mostly C's on its report card, although it scored higher than any other state on affordability because community college fees here are so low.
That doesn't mean the state's four-year colleges are affordable. Poor and working-class families must spend 40 percent of their income, even after financial aid, to send their children to a four-year public university, the report says.
The state also got a C in participation, primarily because there is such a disparity in the percentage of white and Latino students who go to college. While 45 percent of white young adults in California are enrolled in college, only 27 percent of Latino students are enrolled, according to the report.
That disparity could widen as the CSU system limits enrollment next year because of state budget cuts. That move is expected to have the biggest impact on minority students and those who are the first in their families to go to college, because those two groups tend to be less familiar with the application process.
"States should take any step, rather than close college doors," Callan said. "California has been the most ruthless about cutting enrollment during a recession."
The state did somewhat better on college completion, earning a B-minus. About 62 percent of the state's college students get their bachelor's degrees within six years. The gap between white and Latino students, however, persists in this category, too. Two-thirds of white students graduate within six years, compared with 53 percent of Latinos.
Ventura County universities are working to address some of the issues. CSU Channel Islands in Camarillo, for example, works closely with local high schools through several programs to encourage low-income, minority and first-generation students to go to college and make sure they know and meet academic requirements.
The university also participates in the national Educational Opportunity Program, which provides support for students once they get to college.
"We begin these partnerships early," said Jane Sweetland, CSUCI dean of enrollment services. "We catch kids before they fail and give them a support network."
California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks has a program that allows students to attend the private university for the cost of a public school. Under the CLU Guarantee Scholarship, students admitted to either UCLA or UC Santa Barbara can attend CLU for the same price.
CLU also offers an extended summer orientation program for students who are the first in their families to attend college, or who come from low-income households.
In addition, the college has a new office of retention, aimed at tracking and supporting students at risk of dropping out.
"We're getting a new mix of students, so the needs change," said Matthew Ward, CLU vice president for enrollment management. "The assumptions we previously had about what students need will have to be turned on their head."
Posted by GWAR on December 3, 2008 at 6:32 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Now, when they say "Latino," is that everyone with a Spanish last name or immigrants?
Posted by Asterisk on December 3, 2008 at 10:12 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Yup! As a college student in my 4th year, I've noticed that students from working-class families are given scholarships and grants, but they could be taken away if their GPA falls below 3.0 Now, that's a big worry for someone who doesn't have the means to pay. Meanwhile, students from 'wealthier' families don't give a cr*p about their GPA, if it falls 2.9 or below, because mommy and daddy pay for college anyway. And don't lie to me, you know most Latino families are poor and white families are wealthier. So who drops out? The poor Latino student. And those programs they mention don't help at all.
Posted by Noreen_Patesel on December 3, 2008 at 10:26 a.m. (Suggest removal)
its not just latinos who cant pay...
im white and there is no way in hell i am gonna be able to pay (im in 12th grade...)
and there is no way in hell i would be given a scholarship (being as i am pretty much a failure academic wise... and am sitting in adult education as we speak)....
dont got the money dont got the grades..
what is someone like me supposed to do?
I am heavy into music (even though i dont play anything) and i wanna get into music or video productions... and it is depressing when i have friends applying for Berklee college of Music or MIT or places like that and they tell me i should do the same (for music prod)...
but i cant :/
"The Show Must Go On" - Pink Floyd
Posted by NowHearThis on December 3, 2008 at 11:01 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Why is there such a clamor for "college, college, college?" Another of the biggest scams in America is college. College nowadays is just leftist-liberal indoctrination at its worst. I am reading a book, "Inside American Education: The Decline, The Deceptions, the Dogmas," (Thomas Sowell, 1993).
Even though it was written long ago, sadly, it refers to much of what is going on today. Sowell paints a dismal picture of the collegiate scams, costs, admissions fudging, and a lot more that just make you wonder.
Why were quality occupational programs deleted from the educational scene? Because liberal educators and unions wanted students pushed into their web of liberalism.
After the space shuttle flew overhead, and two loud sonic booms occurred, I asked three 20 somethings about sonic booms. The three didn't know what a "sonic boom" was, nor did they know what caused them, nor did they know about the speed of sound.
There is so much credence given to college. Most kids in college partake in moral turpitude activities, get drunk and stoned, oversleep, miss classes, many times on daddy's dime.
But, that's our educational system...
I hate to sound negative, but how can it be negative, if it's the truth?
Posted by Noreen_Patesel on December 3, 2008 at 11:08 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Posted by NowHearThis on December 3, 2008 at 11:01 a.m. (Suggest removal)
...After the space shuttle flew overhead, and two loud sonic booms occurred, I asked three 20 somethings about sonic booms. The three didn't know what a "sonic boom" was, nor did they know what caused them, nor did they know about the speed of sound.
There is so much credence given to college. Most kids in college partake in moral turpitude activities, get drunk and stoned, oversleep, miss classes, many times on daddy's dime.
<><><><><><>
you must have been talking to some pretty stupid 20 somethings.
"have a cigar" - Pink Floyd
Posted by rebel123 on December 3, 2008 at 11:16 a.m. (Suggest removal)
NowHearThis: your post is ridiculous. A college degree will insure higher pay and better opportunities. The saddest part of this whole thing is that the cost of education is so crippling that where forty years ago anybody with aptitude and desire could get a college education. Now only the privileged can go unless you want massive school debt. My oldest is working in her profession and paying off a debt that will take her the next ten or fifteen years to pay off. My youngest is in grad school and will face the same thing. Starting out in life with a staggering debt just to get an education is nuts. State schools used to be affordable for all. Not anymore.
Posted by greengamer on December 3, 2008 at 11:28 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I have 20 bucks that says NowHearThis didn't go to college. Anyone wanna take that bet?
Posted by kmgisme on December 3, 2008 at 1:31 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I have a suggestion for those of you who think college is so expensive. JUNIOR COLLEGE. Then, CAL STATE. In addition, WORK WHILE YOU ATTEND. Granted, it costs more than when I went to school, but it is STILL AFFORDABLE if you WORK. Unfortunately, parents are not teaching their kids how to deal with life and they are clueless when the time comes to suffer a little. If you cannot do it full time, TAKE YOUR TIME. Do it in 8 years, but JUST DO IT and QUIT WHINING.
Oh, and Now Hear This has a point but is a fool if he thinks college is not a valuable experience both financially and as a means of growth.
Posted by NowHearThis on December 3, 2008 at 1:53 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Instead of bashing me, why don't you people read some scholarly books on education, specifically college. "Inside American Education," (Sowell) would be a good start. But instead of informing yourself, your rants and vitriol is what trumps any common sense thinking.
Hey Rebel...you say a, "college degree will insure higher pay and better opportunities." Where is this comment cast in stone? Did you know that a huge majority of the more famous Hollywood actors and musicians never graduated college. The late ABC newsman (and liberal) Peter Jennings never graduated college. Jennings never made it past 10th grade.
I know plenty of folks without a college degree who are darn successful, so Rebel, your thesis holds no water.
As for greengamer, I DO have a college degree from one of California's finest. Just donate the $20 to charity in my name will you.
When many college grads can't fix the plumbing, their auto, or frame a new room, they'll call on a skilled non-college grad to do the job.
It's troubling to hear you people berate the skills trades and extol the virtues of a college degree, specifically since most are liberal indoctrination sheepskins. In my time, a college degree was more like a college degree. Today, a college degree is akin to a high school degree of 30-40 years ago.
And folks, IT'S A FACT that many college entrants don't have proper English and Math skills. This is why most colleges force their entering students to take basic English and Math courses.
Posted by marketrealist on December 3, 2008 at 4:58 p.m. (Suggest removal)
We probably don't need the number of college graduates we have today. We should be learning more in high school and not leaving some of the basics to college.
Having said that, it is critical that some professionals go to college. You simply can't learn enough engineering in high school to work in that field unless you are exceptional. Even in four years of college, its difficult to gain the knowledge necessary. Similar issues like with architecture, medicine, accounting, nursing, etc.
Nowhearthis, not all college are liberal. I actually believe that college students now are not too different from the population. Gone are the days of the 1960s. There are some "liberal" ideas associated with college - such as the belief in evolution over creationism. But these examples are few and far between.
Posted by horsespinner on December 3, 2008 at 5:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)
They did not say "less college graduates". They said the graduate declines after graduating from a U.S. university. This is true if the person becomes a legislator, lawyer or impartial journalist. Perhaps the Star should go back to school (:>
Posted by NowHearThis on December 3, 2008 at 6:57 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Marketrealist...I'll stipulate that not all colleges are liberal. There's Hillsdale College...Bob Jones and Trinity and a host of religious collegs that lean to the right. But, for many 50 state and university systems, I would have say the majority of their ideology slant to the left.
Marketrealist's opinions carry some valid points.
Not to let the cat out of the bag, but I've taught many grades from elementary, high school to community college. I've read reams of scholarly info and there is annecdotal evidence I've witnessed to back up much of what I type.
Who else in these posts can say they've been involved with EDU and have read numerous books on the subject, then can post cogent ideas?
Thanks for reading.
Posted by mstorer on January 4, 2009 at 9:01 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Here's my thought on this article: I'm a conservative, a teacher and a writer. I have a college degree, a couple of them, actually. But a lot of what nowhearthis says is true. However, what's odd--and again, I'm a conservative and a teacher (rare, I know), is that No Child Left Behind, now in place for 8 years, was supposed to change some of this. In fact the reverse is happening. Thoughts?
Posted by moonshadegold on January 28, 2009 at 1:40 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I am 23 and I have an Associates Degree. It took a lot of financial aid, patience and commmiment to get where I am. I am white and while I have married a sailor I am still low in-come. I believe education adds to my life and provides me with a means to get a good paying job. Since the economy has gone to s---, I am struggling to find a basic job. Even food services like Taco bell will not hire. Its not my education or race just the econmy suffering its losses. My choices are to continue college which I had planned to do already but then my dilemma is money. Fafsa has been a huge helping hand but I know eventually I will lose it. My only choice now is to do what I can and hopefully be able to finish my BA. So when I hear about whatever race it is whining that they have been jipped and whites don't have it bad that's complete utter nonsense. Whatever the race education and the means to pay for it is usually tough. I work darn hard for my education and I struggle to pay for it and with jobs going down the tubes... My point is don't point the finger and forget reality. Everybody struggles and has issues with education and money. As for those who say college is a waste. My premise is if you don't know how to count money or anything needed for a job why would anyone want to hire you?
Article discussions on this site are to support community debates of issues related to our stories and editorials.
Discussions should not stray from the subject of the story or editorial.
We do not allow the following:
- Posts that degrade others on the basis of gender, race, class, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation or disability.
- Disparaging remarks, abusive language or obscene comments.
- Threats, whether obvious or veiled.
We reserve the right to delete threads and/or ban users for these or other reasons we deem necessary.
Opinions are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. You agree not to post comments that are off topic, defamatory, obscene, abusive, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned. Click here for our full user agreement.
There are 14 comments to this article.
Comments are found beneath the Yahoo! ad below.