Mississippi

Overview

The college attainment rate in Mississippi is substantially lower than the U.S. average, due in large part to low high school graduation and postsecondary completion rates. A succession of legislative task forces has assisted policymakers in shaping state postsecondary strategies in Mississippi. The work of one task force created the Education Achievement Council, which developed benchmarks toward increasing degree attainment of Mississippi’s working age population to the national average by 2025. The council also is examining the feasibility of basing a portion of funding on performance metrics. To align current college completion efforts with workforce demand, the state should develop workforce goals and metrics that complement the completion goals adopted through the council.

Data

How does Mississippi rank compared to the national average?

• Adults 25-64 with college degrees: 47th (28.9% vs. 38%)
• High school graduates going directly to college: 1st (77.4% vs. 63.3%)
• 18-24 year-olds enrolled in college: 37th (33.5% vs. 36.2%)
• STEM credentials awarded per 1,000 STEM employees: 3rd (86.3% vs. 54.4%)
• Credentials awarded per 1,000 18- to 44-year-olds with no college degree: 45th (30.2% vs. 37.6%)
• Workers with college degrees earning low wages: 42nd (27.4% vs. 22.9%)

For more information, please see the following documents:

Mississippi Data Profile

Mississippi Data PowerPoint

The college attainment rate in Mississippi is substantially lower than the U.S. average, due in large part to low high school graduation and postsecondary completion rates. Only 60% of entering ninth grade students graduate high school on time, and roughly 15% complete a college credential. While labor market demand might provide an apparent disincentive for attending college, it is important to acknowledge that a college credential produces a wage premium. Further, those students and adults that pursue bachelor’s and graduate degrees in STEM, health care, education and management should expect to receive an appreciably higher wage.

Residents, especially college graduates, are leaving the state in large numbers. This development, combined with low overall degree attainment, could have further negative impacts on the economy.

Policies

Analysis

Boosting College Completion has developed a policy profile for Mississippi based on an analysis of data and policies related to college completion and workforce development.

Mississippi Policy Profile

A succession of legislative task forces has assisted policymakers in shaping state postsecondary strategies in Mississippi. House Bill 488 (2009) created the Graduation Rate Task Force, which studied how to improve student outcomes at state postsecondary institutions. The task force issued a report which indicated eight factors that could impact improvement. The factors fall into three main categories:

• Goal making and monitoring progress
• Issues around transitions and alignment: college readiness, transfer, and lack of coordination in admissions and higher education expectations
• Finance and governance

The task force suggested that a long-term goal for raising educational attainment should focus attention on strategies to increase degree completion rates. Among the strategies are: common course frameworks for developmental education at community colleges and transfer and articulation agreements between community colleges and public universities. However, the task force found that variations in the application of these standards and frameworks complicate the state’s ability to improve retention and completion rates. Further, the report revealed that enrollment-based funding produces a system where innovation is not rewarded.

The task force recommended the creation of an Education Achievement Council that would develop benchmarks to measure progress toward the goal of increasing degree attainment of Mississippi’s working age population to the national average by 2025. House Bill 1071 (2010) created the council and House Bill 875 (2011) directed the council to examine the feasibility of basing a portion of funding on performance metrics.

To achieve this ambitious goal, state policymakers might consider:

1. Evaluating whether current state and institutional strategies promote on-time graduation, reduce student debt and encourage enrollees to complete degrees in high-demand fields
2. Partnering with higher education leaders to boost the impact of strategies focused on developmental education and academic transfer
3. Studying whether targeted investments in structured, accelerated certificate and associate degree programs would improve the advancement of low-income workers into middle-skill jobs
4. Leveraging education and workforce data to find out what college graduates are earning, the fields they are employed in and the value of their degrees to the workforce
5. Developing a two-tier approach to postsecondary productivity that meets continued demand for associate degrees while working with the private sector to increase the supply of jobs for workers with bachelor’s and graduate degrees.

News & Updates

Policy Leaders

Sen. Perry Lee, Chair, Universities and Colleges

Rep. Kelvin Buck, Chair, Universities and Colleges

Sen. Videt Carmichael, Chair, Education Committee

Rep. Cecil Brown, Chair, Education Committee

Initiatives

Mississippi is participating in the following national initiatives that are related to college completion and workforce development:

American Diploma Project (ADP)

Common Core Standards Initiative

Complete College America (CCA)

PARCC Assessment Consortium

Resources

The following resources were produced by Boosting College Completion, state agencies and postsecondary systems.

Mississippi Data Profile

Mississippi Data PowerPoint

Blueprint 2011 Mississippi