13-R155

2013 -- S 0512

Enacted 03/20/13

 

 

S E N A T E R E S O L U T I O N

RESPECTFULLY REQUESTING THE RHODE ISLAND OFFICE OF HIGHER EDUCATION TO ASSIST IN THE COORDINATION AND EXPANSION OF PROGRAMS WITHIN RHODE ISLAND'S PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION

     

     

     Introduced By: Senators Gallo, Pichardo, Satchell, DiPalma, and Lombardi

     Date Introduced: February 28, 2013

 

 

     WHEREAS, the January 2013 "Moving the Needle" report released by the Senate Policy

Office and the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council, found that the educational attainment of

Rhode Island’s workforce was a critical strength to the state’s economic competitiveness and that

the potential for even further growth remained; and

     WHEREAS, Median lifetime earnings increase significantly with increased educational

attainment;

     WHEREAS, According to census data, by 2020 over 50 percent of Rhode Island jobs will

require some form of postsecondary training; and

     WHEREAS Census data, as recently as 2011, indicated that 42.7 percent of the Rhode

Island’s working-age adults held at least a two-year degree; and

     WHEREAS, Among those Rhode Islanders without a postsecondary degree, 19.7 percent

had at least some college but did not receive a degree; and

     WHEREAS, Many students do not finish college due to financial or time constraints or

new family or professional commitments, despite being a year or less away from completing their

degree; and

     WHEREAS, Helping these former students return to school and finish their remaining

classes is a low-risk, high-reward opportunity in increasing the overall educational attainment of

Rhode Island’s workforce; and

     WHEREAS, Several other states and nonprofit organizations have focused on getting so-

called ‘ready adults’ – former students with most of their college credit requirements completed –

back on track for some form of postsecondary degree; and

     WHEREAS, In one instance, the state of South Dakota identified over 2,000 adults with

90 or more completed credits, many within disciplines that were critical to the state’s workforce

needs; and

     WHEREAS, In recent years, Rhode Island’s public institutions of higher education have

developed outreach and recruitment programs directed at former students who were unable to

finish school and get their degree; and

     WHEREAS, These programs review the institutions’ records of former students and

target those who were near completion at the time they left school by contacting them through

mail, phone call, and electronically, and providing information on the schools’ websites; and

     WHEREAS, In some instances, the outreach programs provide these students with a

direct academic plan to finish school, and assist students with enrollment, financial aid, and

support services; and

     WHEREAS, Expanding and fully-resourcing these programs across all three Rhode

Island public institutions of higher education represents an opportunity to leverage a successful

program that is already in place, which can potentially help hundreds of former students in

obtaining a post-secondary degree at little cost to the state; now, therefore be it;

     RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations

respectfully requests the Office of Higher Education, in cooperation with the University of Rhode

Island, Rhode Island College, and the Community College of Rhode Island, to assist in the

coordination and expansion of programs within Rhode Island’s public institutions of higher

education to proactively identify and reach out to all former students that were near completion at

the time they left school; to connect these students with the academic, financial, and support

services they may need; and to aid these students in the process of completing a postsecondary

degree; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the Senate hereby requests that the Office of Higher Education report

back to the General Assembly by January 1, 2014, on the progress of these coordinated programs,

including the number of former students identified, the number of students re-enrolled, the

number of students who successfully completed their degree, and any other information the

Office may deem relevant including recommendations for further expansion; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to the Rhode Island Office of Higher Education,

and the Presidents of the University of Rhode Island, Rhode Island College, and the Community

College of Rhode Island.

     

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LC01644

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