Jesse Medina
The Paw Print
Governor Bill Ritter is encouraging Coloradans to finish out their college degrees by instituting the “Complete College Colorado” campaign. The initiative was passed last week and is considered an investment in the future of not only Colorado, but the United States as well.
An alarming trend of adults failing to complete their college degrees is becoming an increasing problem. The “Complete College Colorado” campaign is designed to address the problem in Colorado. The project is receiving support from Colorado’s larger schools such as the University of Colorado and Colorado State University, as well as several other Colorado institutions including Adams State College.
Essentially, the program is designed to encourage the estimated 600,000 Coloradans who have amassed some college credits but failed to complete their degree to complete their postsecondary degrees. Some benefits that will be offered include placing focus on financial aid and scholarships. Basically, college accessibility is the focus of the program. The hefty tag on attending college is well known to most people so additional aid is a step in the right direction.
The need to encourage and increase the number of college graduates is becoming ever greater. According to a recent study done by the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, “the United States is slowly emerging from the recession only to find itself on a collision course with the future: not enough Americans are completing college.” The United States has fallen from first in the world to twelfth in percentage of adults (ages 25-34) with a postsecondary degree.
The necessity for degrees is expected to increase significantly by 2018. It is estimated that around 22 million workers with college degrees will be needed. The number, at its current rate of increase, will fall short of that amount by about 3 million. To keep Colorado moving forward, the need to fill jobs that require a degree is going to dramatically increase.
The current economic situation makes shelling out the money for college a difficult task. Tuition bills are expensive as they are ever-increasing. Students are asked to treat the college bill as an investment in their future. College degrees provide opportunities for higher earnings and the benefits that accompany the college degree. What is obvious from the statistics mentioned earlier is that more and more jobs are going to require college degrees and the investment would most definitely pay off down the road in the acquisition of a good paying job.
Additional measures that are being taken to increase college completion include financial aid, getting students to attend college campuses, and pre-collegiate programs. The pre-collegiate programs are designed to reach out to students in high school and even middle school, giving them exposure to the college experience, as well as preparing and teaching them about what it takes to get into college. In addition to these measures, many colleges allow for the transfer of credits from a previous school. Online degrees are also becoming popular as they allow for a student to gain a college degree without even stepping foot on a campus.
With these initiatives being taken, Colorado is preparing for a bright future.
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