The Attainment Agenda: State Policy Leadership in Higher Education

6. Much Accomplished, Much at Stake: The Performance and State Policies of Higher Education in Maryland

Chapter 6 Much Accomplished, Much at Stake The Performance and State Policies of Higher Education in Maryland With contributions by Jamey Rorison Maryland leads the nation in the educational attainment of its population.1 In 2008, 43.9% of adults in Maryland (ages 25 and older) held at least an associate degree, compared with 37.9% of adults nationwide.2 Even with this relatively high performance, Maryland aspires to even greater attainment.3 A leader of a state higher education agency we interviewed explained that Maryland seeks to compete globally, not nationally, stating: “Our governor has made it clear that we are not measuring ourselves against the southern states or against any other state, quite frankly. Our goal as a state is to be among the most competitive countries in the world.” Based on trends in degree production and projected population growth, Maryland needs to increase its annual production of associate and bachelor’s degrees by 5.1% per year in order for 55% of its workforce (ages 25 to 64) to hold at least an associate degree by 2020.4 Raising attainment rates among students of traditional college age (i.e., about 18 to 24) will not be sufficient to reach the state’s goal for international competitiveness; Maryland must also improve educational outcomes for nontraditional-­ age students.5 The state must also improve its higher education performance if it is to meet projected workforce demands. Between 2008 and 2018, considerably more new jobs in the state are projected to require postsecondary education (213,000) rather than a high school education (107,000). About 67% of all jobs in Maryland are expected to require at least some postsecondary education or training Maryland  111 by 2018, a higher percentage than the national average (63%) and among the highest percentages nationwide. Maryland ranks eleventh in the nation in the percentage of jobs requiring at least a bachelor’s degree.6 The state’s higher education performance must also improve to respond to other changes in the state economy and workforce such as the Base Realignment and Closure process.7 To reach the required levels of educational attainment, Maryland must reduce gaps in educational performance across demographic groups. Educational attainment is considerably lower for native-­ born Marylanders than for residents who move to the state. According to one report, 35% of native-­ born Marylanders had at least a bachelor’s degree in 2009, compared with 43% of Maryland residents who were from another state or country.8 In other words, three out of four Maryland residents with a bachelor’s degree or higher were born in another state.9 The importance of improving educational attainment of Blacks and Hispanics in the state is underscored by demographic trends. As noted by the University System of Maryland (USM), “The fastest growing segments of Maryland’s population are those groups traditionally less likely to pursue and complete postsecondary education.”10 Blacks represent a considerably higher share of the population of Maryland than of the nation as a whole (28.7% compared with 12.1%).11 Hispanics represent a smaller share of Maryland’s population (7.2% in 2009) than the U.S. population overall (15.8%),12 but (as illustrated in chapter 3) most of the state’s projected growth in high school will be among Hispanics.13 Degree attainment rates must be improved among the state’s Black and Hispanic populations if Maryland is to meet its statewide goals. From 1990 to 2005, the share of 25-­to 64-­ year-­ olds in Maryland who had attained at least an associate degree increased among Blacks (rising from 22.5% to 26.8%) but declined among Hispanics (falling from 31.6% to 25.9%). Over the same period, the share of Whites with at least an associate degree also increased (from 38.2% to 48.4%), leaving a gap of 21 percentage points between Whites and Blacks in 2005 and a gap of 22 percentage points between Whites and Hispanics.14 Improving the state’s higher education performance will also require better performance in the City of Baltimore. As the nation’s twentieth-­ largest metropolitan area,15 Baltimore is home to 10.8% of the state’s population.16 Yet only 29.5% of adults in Baltimore have completed at least an associate degree, compared with 41.5% statewide.17 The city’s population has a higher percentage of Blacks (63.1%) than does the state as a whole (28.5%).18 Income levels are lower...