The small percentage of students from low-income and working-class families who complete their bachelor's degrees will prevent the United States from reaching the Obama administration's plan to have the largest proportion of college graduates in the world by 2020, according to a study released by the Pell Institute for the Study of Opportunity in Higher Education. Data from the U.S. Census Bureau from 2009 reveals that only 12 percent of students in the lower 50 percent of the income distribution earned a bachelor's degree by age 24, compared to 59 percent in the upper 50 percent. The report also makes fiscal recommendations such as preserving Pell Grants and improving the accessibility of academic support and outreach services to close the gap between low and high-income students.
The State University of New York recently made public its first "report card" with information regarding the university system's student retention and graduation rates in order to promote accountability, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education. The report was part of Chancellor Nancy Zimpher's efforts to highlight SUNY's contributions to state education and to argue for more economic autonomy, The Chronicle reported. The report pinpoints areas that need improvement, such as the percentage of first-generation, full-time black and Hispanic students who earn their degree within six years. Additionally, the report found that only 10 percent of black students working towards their associate degrees receive their diplomas in under three years, The Chronicle reported.
In an 89 to 5 vote, the academic staff of the University of Wisconsin at Superior approved the creation of the first academic staff union within the state's public university system, according to a press release by the American Federation of Teachers-Wisconsin. The vote fits into a series of seven previous votes since 2009 to unionize faculty at University of Wisconsin campuses including Eau Claire, La Crosse, Stout, River Falls, Stevens Point, Superior and Green Bay, according to the press release. The recent votes to unionize have been made in response to the "budget repair" bill proposed by Gov. Scott Walker, R-Wis., which, if passed through the court system, could remove the academic staff and faculty's rights to collectively bargain. "The recent uncertainties and lack of respect for public employees that have been demonstrated by the governor's initiatives have certainly contributed to our resolve to create a formal bargaining group," Jim Miller, coordinator of enrollment research at UW-Superior, said in the press release.
