The Institute for a Competitive Workforce released its evaluations of two and four year colleges for each state across the country. The ICW is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization affiliated with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that strives to improve the relationship and success of education systems and the private workforce they’re preparing students for. Grades are based on six major factors and grades are compared nationally.
A high amount of Texas university and college students were recipients of the Pell Grant, nearly 33% higher than other states. But, Texas schools had difficulty retaining those students within their system and struggled even further when it came to overall completion rate. Two year colleges suffered even more of this and were in the bottom ten percentile in the nation. Local schools excel in their efficiency and cost-effectiveness scores. The total price for a student who completes a four year education in a Texas institution averages just $48,849 while state and local funding is $30,318. The numbers are staggering considering the national average is nearly $20,000 dollars more for the same about of schooling.
Local colleges also scored very high in transparency and accountability. This is in part due to the strong online focus of college literature, statistics, cost calculators and other technology savvy methods of holding, processing and displaying information for current and prospective students. Universities in Texas are required to participate in the Collegiate Learning Assessment and the Automated Student and Adult Learner Follow-up System to monitor activity, success rates and labor market outcomes of all college graduates.
It was not all gold stars and thumbs up though. The state acquired some mid pack scores in Policy Environment, Online Learning and, possibly the most telling, Meeting Labor Market Demand. To read more in detail about the Texas report card and other education related articles and how it relates to current job markets, visit the ICW Website.