Nevada

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Overview

The college attainment rate in Nevada is substantially below the national average, due in large part to low high school completion and postsecondary participation rates among young adults. Nevada does benefit from a large number of college graduates migrating to the state that can help meet short-term demand for available jobs. With the Hispanic population growing at a rate greater than the general population, the state must invest in strategies that increase their educational attainment and create a workforce that can compete in a global economy. A statewide completion and workforce strategy, with goals and quantifiable metrics, could enable the state to make investments in postsecondary completion and measure the results of those investments, particularly among those populations with the greatest needs.

Data

How does Nevada rank compared to the national average?

Adults 25-64 with college degrees: 46th (30.4% vs. 38%)
High school graduates going directly to college: 43rd (55.6% vs. 63.3%)
Undergraduate awards per 100 FTE undergraduates: 50th (14.8% vs. 19%)
STEM credentials awarded per 1,000 STEM employees: 43rd (41.3% vs. 54.4%)
Workers with college degrees earning low wages: 19th (23.1% vs. 22.9%)
Annual migration of college degree-holders per 100,000 22 to 64 year olds: 1st

For more information, please see the following documents:

Nevada Data Profile

Nevada Data PowerPoint

The college attainment rate in Nevada is substantially lower than the U.S. average, due in large part to low high school graduation and postsecondary participation rates. Only 47.4% of entering ninth grade students graduate high school on time, and roughly 10% 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.

The future outlook for the Nevada economy will depend on increasing degree productivity among young adults and Latinos, in particular.

Policies

Boosting College Completion has produced a comprehensive 50-state legislative database related to college completion and workforce development. The database will grow as we continue to collect and analyze policies.

Highlights of Nevada’s policies:

Involving Postsecondary Preparation – A.B. 138 (2011)
Relating to Postsecondary Efficiency & Accountability – A.B. 220 (2011)
Reviewing Current & Proposed Funding Models for Postsecondary Education – S.B. 374 (2011)
Creating State Economic Development Infrastructure – A.B. 449 (2011)
Tracking Postsecondary, Workforce Participation of Women & Minorities – A.B. 327 (2009)

Check out the BCC database for a more complete summary of Nevada’s policies. Click on the Menu arrow for additional options, such as printing the summary.

Analysis

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

Nevada Policy Profile

The college attainment rate in Nevada is substantially below the national average, due in large part to low high school completion and postsecondary participation rates among young adults. Only 10% of 9th-grade students complete high school, enroll in college and finish a college credential within 150% of program time. Nevada does benefit from a large number of college graduates migrating to the state that can help meet short-term demand for available jobs. However, in-migration is not likely a long-term solution to the state’s challenges. With the Hispanic population growing at a rate greater than the general population, the state must invest in strategies that increase their educational attainment and create a workforce that can compete in a global economy. A statewide completion and workforce strategy, with goals and quantifiable metrics, could enable the state to make investments in postsecondary completion and measure the results of those investments, particularly among those populations with the greatest needs. To meet future demographic and workforce challenges, the legislature should:

Develop a statewide completion strategy that identifies specific goals and metrics for increasing postsecondary attainment rates
Connect 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
Increase the capacity of postsecondary institutions to meet labor market needs in health care and high-tech fields
Provide institutions with incentives to redesign programs of study so that they accelerate learning, reduce time-to-degree and increase postsecondary productivity
Structure financial aid so that it contributes to improvement in overall degree completion rates, reduction in equity gaps and alignment with workforce goals.

News & Updates

Policy Leaders

Sen. David Bobzien, Chair, Education Committee

Sen. Marilyn Dondero Loop, Vice-Chair, Education Committee

Rep. Moises (Mo) Denis, Chair, Education Committee

Rep. Ruben Kihuen, Vice-Chair, Education Committee

Initiatives

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

Common Core Standards Initiative

Complete College America (CCA)

SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium

Resources

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