Double the Numbers

Kentucky's Double the Numbers logo

On October 17, 2007, the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education launched "Double the Numbers: Kentucky's Plan to Increase College Graduates". The plan states that to raise Kentucky's standard of living to the national average by 2020, Kentucky must double the number of its citizens with at least a bachelor's degree, and outlines five key strategies to reach this goal.

The state's Double the Numbers effort is supported by KnowHow2GOKy a comprehensive outreach campaign.

Why Bachelor's degrees?

Demographers predict that in 2020, about 1 of every three Americans will have a bachelor's degree. In 2000, about 1 in 5 Kentuckians had a bachelor's degree. If current trends continue, Kentucky will fall short of its goal by about 211,000 college graduates. Simply put, this plan is one of the most substantial contributions ourwho?] postsecondary education programs can make to Kentucky's quality of life in the shortest period of time.

The plan focuses on bachelor's degree production because:

1. The link between economic prosperity and educational attainment is most dramatic at the bachelor's degree level, both for states and for individuals.
2. At the current rate of improvement, Kentucky is on track to meet or exceed the national average in associate degree production, but will fall far short in bachelor's degrees.
3. Master's and advanced degrees, which are vital to the new economy, cannot be obtained without a bachelor's degree.

Benefits

There is a strong correlation between education level and personal income, productivity, civic participation, life expectancy, employment status and community strength.

States with more college graduates have stronger, more diverse economies.

• Unemployment rates are much lower for college graduates than for high school graduates.^[1]
• The top states in educational attainment also rank highest on the New Economy Index, which measures innovation, entrepreneurship, and competitiveness in the global economy. Kentucky ranks 45th on this index.^[2]

College graduates earn more.

• Kentuckians with bachelor's degrees typically earn over $16,000 more per year than high school graduates.^[3]
• The average U.S. bachelor's degree recipient can expect to earn 62 percent more over a 40-year working life than the average high school graduate.^[4]
  

College graduates are healthier.

• In 2005, 61 percent of U.S. college graduates exercised vigorously at least once a week as compared to 31 percent of high school graduates.
• College graduates in the U.S. are less likely to smoke.^[5]
• U.S. adults with a bachelor's degree are more likely to have health insurance.^[6]

College graduates tend to be more engaged citizens.

• In 2006, about 27 percent of U.S. adults volunteered for community organizations. Among college graduates, the volunteer rate was 43 percent, over twice the 19 percent rate for high school graduates.^[7]
• In the 2004 presidential election, 76 percent of U.S. college graduates reported voting, compared to 49 percent of high school graduates.^[8]

States with more college graduates generally enjoy a higher quality of life.

• Incarceration rates for U.S. adults with some postsecondary education are significantly lower--about a quarter of that for individuals with only a

high school diploma.^[9]

• Government spending for public assistance programs tends to decrease as levels of education increase.^[10]
• Kentuckians with higher education levels have lower rates of poverty.^[11]

The Five Strategies

With help from the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems and Kentucky's nine public postsecondary institutions, the Double the Numbers Plan outlines five strategies which, if implemented concurrently over the next 13 years, will produce the additional degree holders needed to Double the Numbers.

Strategy 1: Raise high school graduation rates.
Strategy 2: Increase the number of GED graduates and transition more to college.
Strategy 3: Enroll more first-time students in community/technical colleges and transfer them to 4-year programs.
Strategy 4: Increase the number of Kentuckians going to and completing college.
Strategy 5: Attract college-educated workers to the state and create new jobs for them.

Regional approach

To give the statewide targets more meaning, the Double the Numbers Plan sets 2020 targets for each of eight university service regions in each of the five strategies. The plan also identifies the potential benefit to the region in terms of increased average household income and encourages each region to pursue a coordinated effort engaging all postsecondary institutions and education and business partners in its region.

Notes