A Stronger Nation through Higher Education: A Special Report from the Lumina Foundation

A new study by the Council of Graduate Schools shows that for the 7th straight year applications to U.S. graduate schools by international students increased.
 

A Stronger Nation Through Higher Education, a report released this week by the Lumina Foundation for Education, tracks progress on the Foundation’s “Big Goal:” sixty percent of Americans obtaining a high-quality postsecondary degree or credential by 2025. The report assesses higher education attainment rates at the national, state, and county levels; presents various breakdowns of the data, including by race, ethnicity, age, and level of education; and provides the attainment rate of the nation’s 100 largest metropolitan areas.

Among the findings:

• The percentage of working age adults (ages 25-64) who held a two- or four-year degree increased slightly from 38.1 percent in 2009 to 38.3 percent in 2010.


• In 2010, the attainment rate for young adults was a full percentage point higher (39.3%) than the attainment rate for all adults.


• 54.37% of adults in the Washington, D.C.-Arlington-Alexandria metropolitan area hold at least an associate’s degree (54.37%). This is the highest rate of educational attainment among the 100 largest metropolitan areas in the country.


• At the current rate of increase in the percent of Americans obtaining a postsecondary degree or credential, only 46.5 percent of Americans will hold degrees by 2025.

In addition to the data summaries, A Stronger Nation assesses the state of higher education attainment and its ramifications for the future of our country. The report also provides strategies for closing the gap and reaching the 60 percent attainment goal by 2025.

This report marks the third report in what will be an annual series through the target date of 2025.