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College Focus of State's Plan Gendron: More Should Attend

Posted on: Friday, 11 November 2005, 15:00 CST

By RUTH-ELLEN COHEN; OF THE NEWS STAFF

AUGUSTA - The state has a great track record of graduating students from high school, but it can no longer afford to rest on its laurels and must now concentrate on getting more people to enroll in and complete college, Education Commissioner Susan Gendron said Thursday.

"We've patted ourselves on the back long enough," she told the Legislature's Education Committee as she reviewed a new plan that aims to ensure that all Maine students are prepared for college, careers and citizenship.

Written by a group charged by Gov. John Baldacci to come up with a way to create an integrated and seamless public education system, the plan recommends preparing a 10-year strategy so the state's higher education system can accommodate 40,000 additional students.

"Raising the level of college attainment is critical to our ability to compete in the international market," Gendron said, noting that the state ranks last in New England for the number of bachelor's degrees, and 33rd in the nation for the number of students enrolled in college.

Gendron was among a number of key players on Thursday who were asked to update lawmakers on higher education initiatives and issues that could come to the forefront during the legislative session that begins in January.

The commissioner pointed out that while 65 percent of high school seniors say they plan to go to college, only 50 percent actually enroll. And she noted that a large number of students haven't been adequately prepared for college and must take remedial courses for which they earn no credit. They often drop out after their first year, she said.

"Kids assume a high school diploma means they're ready to start college, but far too often this isn't the case," said Colleen Quint, executive director of the George J. Mitchell Scholarship Research Institute in Portland, who also addressed lawmakers.

She said that a recently acquired $1.9 million National Governors Association grant will help the Department of Education - working with partners including the Mitchell Institute, the Maine Community College System, the University of Maine System and the Compact for Higher Education - bring to life several key strategies contained in the new report.

Maine was among 10 states to receive the two-year grant, according to Quint. She said the money would enable the expansion of "early college" programs like those offered by the Mitchell Institute and the community college system in which high school juniors and seniors take courses for credit at nearby colleges and universities. The grant will pay for 1,500 new college courses and allow 600 additional students in more than 30 high schools across the state to participate in "early college," she said.

In addition, the grant will be used to train community and business leaders on how to create "community conversations" addressing the importance of college. The money also will go toward the launching of a media campaign promoting higher education to those who may not be college-bound.

"We can't get 40,000 net new degree holders if everyone focuses on kids who already aim to go to college," she said.

Quint said an "early college" program can be a life-changing event for average students. They gain confidence because "no one ever thought they could take a college-level course," and they even do better in high school.

The new advertising campaign could include radio and television spots that focus on how to be prepared for college and on the importance of furthering one's education, she said. For example, students could tell their own stories about how they planned for college, and business representatives could discuss how a college education provides skills that help even blue collar workers such as lobstermen, plumbers and carpenters.

Also discussed during Thursday's all-day session was whether Maine's separate university and community college systems should be more closely aligned to increase coordination and collaboration. UMS Chancellor Joseph Westphal, MCCS President John Fitzsimmons, and Maine Maritime Academy President Len Tyler all agreed that their current structure of separate but collaborative systems is working well.

Source: Bangor Daily News

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