Universities, Government Must Answer Economic Call to Arms
G. David Gearhart
Chancellor, University of Arkansas
June 18, 2009

Arkansas has fallen to 50th place in the percentage of adults with a college diploma, ahead of only West Virginia (the District of Columbia is first). Currently, only 18.2 percent of Arkansans age 25 or older hold a bachelor's degree or higher.

No state with a low proportion of degrees has a high per capita income, while every state with a high proportion of degrees has a high per capita income. For instance, 37 percent of adults in Massachusetts have a bachelor's degree or higher, and the per capita income is $46,299 - compared to Arkansas' per capita income of $28,473.

On average, your health, wealth and happiness improve significantly with the completion of a bachelor's degree. As the individual goes, so goes society. Increasing the number of degree holders increases the tax base and lowers the unemployment rate. Degree holders are far less likely to commit crimes or need public assistance, and far more likely to volunteer, donate blood and vote. You build a strong society and a robust economy a degree at a time.

With the cost of providing and obtaining a college education continuing to rise, increasing the number of degree holders won't be easy. One problem is that support for higher education has not kept pace with increased enrollment.

Here at the University of Arkansas, students are graduating with an average debt load of almost $20,000. More than 2,500 students now face an average funding gap of $11,700 - the funding gap being the cost of attendance, minus the expected family contribution, minus scholarships, grants and work study.

The gap each student faces must be met through work and/or loans. Through the Access Arkansas initiative, we are trying to raise private funds for need-based scholarships to support these students, but it is unlikely there will ever be enough scholarships for every deserving student.

Increasing state funding for higher education will certainly help keep it affordable, and I look forward to eventual full funding based on the state's formula for funding institutions of higher education.

Governor Beebe clearly sees higher education as a priority, and I am confident the General Assembly will significantly increase state support as quickly as the economic situation allows. Strong state support is critical for holding back tuition increases and maintaining the quality of education.

Lt. Governor Halter clearly sees the importance of higher education by the courageous stance he has taken on implementing a lottery that will benefit students in obtaining a degree. His position was not always popular, but there is no doubt thousands of students will benefit from his hard work and determination on their behalf.

Nevertheless, some of what we may need to do is to better explain to the public that an education is long-term investment, and not simply a consumer purchase. By investing in college tuition you stand to earn $1.1 million more over the course of your working life than if you only have a high school degree. By any measure, that is a fantastic rate of return, and still very much worth the investment.

We can improve the percentage of college students who complete a degree in six years. The statewide average among four-year public institutions is 45.9 percent. The University of Arkansas leads the state at approximately 59 percent, but that still is not good enough.

We must do better by our students to do better by our state. Toward this end we are redoubling our efforts at the state's flagship university to put students first, and are actively soliciting student input on how we can improve both their experience and their ability to be successful - as measured by graduation. This will entail keeping costs down and ferreting out waste throughout the university, improving the quality of student-teacher interaction, more actively monitoring at-risk students, and reducing bureaucratic roadblocks, among other efforts.

Unfortunately, there is no easy solution to increasing the number of degree holders. But we must find a way. It will entail not only a stronger governmental commitment but also a cultural commitment to higher education as an investment every bit as necessary to family well being as a home. And, it will require the creation of many more quality jobs in Arkansas to keep our graduates in-state.

As the global economy becomes more knowledge-based, it is all the more important that we have an educated workforce that can benefit from it, rather than be marginalized by it.