College Readiness-AASCU

For decades IT has been a major driver of efficiency. In the future it may be a major driver of growth as well. That fundamental shift means that IT organizations will be central to change, but they also will undergo significant changes themselves. They will be called upon to innovate and experiment to drive incremental growth, to bridge intellectual resources in unusual ways and to facilitate broad-based changes that extend well beyond just IT.

After noting that two major sources of support for postsecondary institutions - state appropriations and university endowments - are down, the report goes on to point out that the demand for public higher education is growing as more people seek skills needed for today's workforce. The report also finds while higher education generally saw declining state support in FY 2009, funds made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) allowed certain states to slightly increase spending on higher education in FY 2010. Even with ARRA funds, 23 states spent less on higher education in FY 2010 than FY 2009. State policy developments in response to revenue declines highlighted by NCSL include California's efforts to decrease enrollment, Florida's decision to tighten residency requirements, and the reduction or elimination of programs in North Carolina, South Dakota, and Utah. The report concludes with a table summarizing the significant higher education funding developments in the states over the past two years.

This research report defines college readiness as being minimally qualified for admission to a college. It does not take into account student need for remedial or developmental work in mathematics or reading. It contains a useful discussion of the efficacy of different methods of calculating high school graduation rates. It basically equates college readiness rates with properly calculated high school graduation rates.

This article defines college readiness as minimally eligible to be admitted to a college. It discusses methodology and data sources. It does not take need for remediation or development into account.