Improving Educational Outcomes for Kentucky Residents

The low transfer rate to four-year colleges is a significant barrier to higher education for Kentucky’s community college students. Transferring is significantly more difficult for those who identify as Hispanic or black than it is for people who identify as white. Earning a college degree is a challenge for adult learners as well. Adult learner undergraduate enrollment is down by 46% over the last decade. 

In order to reverse this trend and create more equitable educational outcomes for Kentucky residents, community colleges and universities must collaborate to expedite the transfer process. Their combined efforts must be focused on delineating the primary qualifications and pathways in order to transfer. Academic advisors can also help raise transfer and on-time graduation rates by more than 20% by removing informational barriers. 

Kentucky is aiming to meet its 2030 target of having 60% of its population possess a post-secondary degree or certification. At the moment, it is lower than the national average in baccalaureate degree attainment by 8%. Raising the rate of college graduation can result in more people entering the workforce, more financial stability, and a decline in public assistance program participation. Kentucky must close the educational gap and guarantee that its citizens are prepared for financial student success.

Source: Kentucky Student Success Collaborative

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