Beebe not only governor focusing on higher ed retention and graduation rates

Yesterday, Governor Beebe told reporters after speaking to a conference of college and university officials that he wants to hold them more accountable on performance. To that end, he's announced a plan to tie at least some state funds to retention and graduation rates in a new higher education funding formula. I suspect we'll begin seeing a specific proposal in the coming months as we prepare for the 87th General Assembly.

Arkansas is currently 49th in the number of degree-holding adults. If we're to claw out of the cellar in this ranking, we're going to have to do it in the face of some ambitious plans by other governors. For instance:

• Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano (D) recently proposed a compact with that state’s 8th-graders: Stay out of trouble and get Bs in high school, and we’ll give you a college education. In addition, she's pledged to double the number of bachelor’s degrees awarded by her state’s colleges by 2020. She also proposed a fixed-tuition plan that would freeze tuition rates for all four years of a student’s college life.

• Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D) also set a goal of doubling the number of college graduates. She wants to expand a pilot program that gives students an associate college degree after a five-year high school program and reward colleges that manage to graduate students, as opposed to just enrolling them.

• New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer (D) is proposing a first-in-the-nation plan to lease the New York State Lottery to private investors as a way to fund a higher education endowment.

• Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland (D) said he wants to pay for students to spend their final year of high school on a college campus for free. He also wants to make Ohio one of the 10 least-expensive states to attend college.

In 2007, the Arkansas Legislature gave colleges and universities a 10% increase in general revenue funding -- funding went from $644 million to $709 million this fiscal year. An increase to $738 million is scheduled for next year.

As important as it is to climb in the rankings among adults with college degrees, it is encouraging to see all states trying to compete in a global economy by improving higher education and by investing in university research and development.