Higher Education Funding Commission report released
From Staff Reportsnews@newnan.com
A study done last year by Georgetown University found that, to meet projected workforce needs, Georgia must increase the percentage of its population that holds a post-secondary credential from 42 percent to 60 percent over the next eight years.
Complete College Georgia is Georgia Governor Nathan Deal’s initiative to produce the additional 250,000 credentials the state will need to meet this demand.
The commission’s recommendations include rewarding student progression across critical hours-earned benchmarks, degree and credential completion, and sector-performance in strategic initiatives, which could include such indicators as job placement, award of research dollars, or decreasing the time to degree. The commission recommended that the formula also include an incentive for students who are over 25 years of age or who receive the Pell Grant. The Governor’s Office will review the recommendations with key decision-makers to determine the appropriate next steps toward implementation.
“The current higher education funding formulas emphasize enrollment with little to no focus on ensuring that students are successful after they get there,” said Deal. “The recommendations of the Higher Education Funding Commission are a good starting point toward emphasizing outcomes and are a strong addition to our state’s work on increasing college access, retention and completion.”
“I appreciate and support the work of the Governor’s Formula Revision Study Commission,” University System of Georgia Chancellor Hank Huckaby said.
