Higher education is economic development engine
BYLINE: Ken Little
Today's generation of students will be less educated than their parents. This marks the first time in our nation's history the trend in education levels has reversed.
That sobering assessment comes from someone who should know, University of Wisconsin System President Kevin Reilly.
Reilly recently met with the editorial board of our sister paper, the Stevens Point Journal. His view of the state of education in Wisconsin is backed by numbers that show we are falling behind the national averages and our Midwest peers.
According to a report by Reilly titled "Growth Agenda for Wisconsin," the numbers are not encouraging:
* Based on current trends, for every 100 eighth-graders in Wisconsin, the state will get about 30 college graduates. That means some 70 young people will face 45 years or more of work and "they won't do well in a knowledge-based economy," according to Reilly.
* About 25.5 percent of the state's population has bachelor's degrees, which is two points lower than the national average and almost five points less than our neighboring states that average closer to 30 percent.
* About 32 percent of Minnesota's residents have college degrees and its per capita income is $4,000 higher than our state's.
* Some 1.2 million residents have college credits but not enough to earn a degree.
Reilly believes these numbers suggest some clear priorities for the state. First, we must increase the number and percentage of residents who hold college degrees. Second, we must attract more college-educated people to the state. Finally, we must create the jobs that support a more highly-educated workforce.
Reilly's vision is an ambitious one. It would be easy to dismiss his vision as the type of self-serving report you might expect from someone charged with protecting and growing a university system.
However, Reilly's assessment of the future is dead-on.
Manufacturing continues to be a significant force in our Lakeshore and state economies. The national trend in high-paying jobs is clearly towards a knowledge-based economy.
Even many of today's manufacturing jobs require a more highly-educated workforce as automated and computer-assisted processes gain importance.
An investment in education as an economic development engine is a long-term and expensive proposition. It is also a frustrating "chicken or the egg" conundrum.
It takes an educated and skilled workforce to attract high-paying knowledge-based jobs, but it is difficult to grow such a workforce without the jobs to attract and retain workers.
While attracting jobs is always an option, many knowledge-based jobs grow from research at the university level. The whole "Silicon Valley" phenomenon began and continues to be nurtured by the university system in California, but it didn't happen overnight.
We have that opportunity in Wisconsin, but it will take a commitment to our children to make it happen. Where will the resources come from to make this happen? We don't have all the answers, but doing what we've always done is not the answer.
We need to find a way within the existing tax structure to fund education at all levels so that more students reach the college graduate status. It won't be easy, but other states are managing to do it and the investment is paying off.
If Wisconsin could raise its per capita income by $4,000 to the same level as Minnesota's, we would reap a bonanza in economic growth and additional tax revenue.
One certain way to raise our per capita income is to increase the percentage of the population with college degrees.