http://ozarkspub.vo.llnwd.net/o37/KSMU/audio/mp3/highereduc_1859.mp3
Missouri underperforms in educating its young population and providing affordable education, according to a report from the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education. KSMU's Mike Smith talked with Missouri's Interim Higher Education Commissioner Charles McClain about the report:
the National Center for Public Policy in Higher Education's biennial report Measuring Up 2006: The National Report Card on Higher Education. The report offers a state-by-state analysis of new detailed findings on preparation, participation, affordability, completion, benefits, and learning and compares each state internationally.
The state report shows that:
Missouri received a C for preparation, a B for participation, an F for affordability, a B+ for completion and an A for benefits.
The chance that a 9th grader will graduate from high school and go directly to college has increased over the past decade, in contrast to a national decline ... about 39 percent of 9th graders are enrolled in college four years later.
Among 18- to 24-year-olds, the gap in college participation between whites (36 out of 100 are enrolled in college) and no-whites is substantial (26 out of 100 are enrolled)
Net college costs for low- and middle-income students to attend public two- and four-year colleges and universities represent 34 percent and 46 percent of their annual family income, respectively.