Graphs - Ohio Residents

 

As Ohio's educational attainment has climbed, so also has per capita income, but there is still room for improvement.

Ohio students are more likely to stay in state for college than their peers around the country.

The nation's high school-age population - the near-term source of most colleges' and universities' future enrollment - is shrinking, and Ohio's is shrinking faster than the nation.

The newest federal projections show a continuing lag in Ohio public high school graduates, the major source for new students in all of Ohio's colleges and universities.

Preferences in Ohio's presidential primary elections varied by educational level.

Ohio's standing as a net importer of first-time, full-time freshmen increased markedly in the last two years.

Each member of Ohio's congressional delegation represents at least 2,300 undergraduates attending an independent college in the state, and seven of the 16 members represent at least 5,000 undergrads.

Except for part-time undergraduates, the share of students attending Ohio independent colleges and universities who are Ohio residents is dropping.

Relative to the nation, Ohio has more business and education degree holders; fewer in the humanities and social sciences; and about the same in STEM fields.

Every state senator represents at least 985 undergraduates attending Ohio independent colleges and universities, and several represent more than 3,000.

The House of Representatives' increase in the Ohio College Opportunity Grant represents a good first step in improving access to higher education for the state's neediest citizens.

Despite its recent gains, Ohio continues to lag the nation in educational attainment at the bachelor's degree level.

About 2/3 of each recent class of independent-college alumni and alumnae have chosen to remain in Ohio after graduation, roughly the same proportion as when they entered college.

 

Every member of the Ohio House represents at least 198 undergraduates attending Ohio independent colleges, with 18 members representing 1,000 or more.

 

More than 11,000 Ohio recent high school graduates enroll in college out of state, with more than half attending in an adjoining state.

The second largest segment of Ohio's population, measured for educational attainment, remains the more than 1.6 million (more than 1/5 of the state's adults) who have no degree to show for their investment in higher education.

 

Ohio and all its adjacent states continue to lag the US average for adults above age 25 with bachelor's or higher degrees.

 

The conundrum continues: Ohio's educational attainment is higher than the US average at the high school level, but lower at the baccalaureate level, and the gaps stubbornly remain.

 

Like music and the arts, foreign language study is clearly correlated with higher college readiness throughout the curriculum.

 

After years of being a marginal net exporter of new college freshmen, Ohio recently has become a significant net importer.

 

Both public and private four-year campuses in Ohio are attracting increasing shares of entering first-year classes from out of state.

 

Ohio continues to lag the nation and its regional peers in the percentage of adults seeking bachelor's degrees.

 

Ohio residents as a share of full-time undergraduates at independent colleges have dropped two percentage points since 2010.

 

All but one member of the Ohio Senate have at least 1,000 constituents attending in-state independent colleges, and one has just over 4,000.

 

More than 23,800 undergraduates at Ohio independent colleges shared $35.6 million in need-based financial aid from the state in the previous academic year.

 

Members of the Ohio House represent at least 185 constituents attending an Ohio independent college, ranging up to more than 2,000.

 

In four years, the remaining cost for the state's neediest families to send a student to an Ohio public university, after state and federal financial aid, has quadrupled.

 

Projections of high school graduates in Ohio (potential traditional-age college students) show a continued drop that turns precipitous a decade from now.

 

Although younger Ohioans are increasingly better educated, the stubborn gap between Ohio and national educational attainment remains.

 

Ohioans are more likely than the nation as a whole to remain in state for college.

 

Metropolitan areas in Ohio - the shaded counties represent each city's metropolitan survey area - vary considerably in the adult population's educational attainment, with Columbus leading the way.

 

The recovery from the current drop in Ohio public high school graduates will be small and brief.

 

Enrollment in the independent sector accounted for two thirds of the much higher net migration to Ohio colleges and universities in fall 2010.

 

Ohio continues to lag the nation as a whole in the educational attainment of its citizens, and trails two of its adjoining states.

 

Despite increased enrollments and graduations, Ohio's baccalaureate attainment gap has increased over the last two decades.

 

The repeal two years ago of the Student Choice Grant, which supported Ohioans attending in-state independent colleges, eliminated a key incentive for students to stay in their home state for their education.

 

Each Ohio state senator represents at least 1,000 undergraduates attending Ohio's independent colleges, and for some the number is more than three times higher.

 

Ohio's independent colleges, while attractive to out-of-state students, provide education to Ohioans at all academic levels.

 

This drop is even higher - 13 percent - when measured against the peak of high school graduations in the state, which was just two years ago.

 

Every one of Ohio's 99 state representatives has more than 100 undergraduates at in-state independent colleges from her or his district, and many have 1,000 or more.

 

One in five adult Ohioans have invested time and money in a college education but have no degree to show for it.

 

Recent data is consistent with Ohio's longstanding conundrum: Its population is better educated that the nation's at the the high school level, but less well educated at the bachelor's degree level.

 

Although relatively stable, the share of freshman classes who are Ohio residents has fallen slightly since the high point in the fall of 2004, at both public and independent four-year campuses.

 

Recent graduates of Ohio independent colleges are likely still to be in Ohio; each class's share of those remaining here after graduation is not only higher than that of all alumni/alumnae, but is at least as high as the share of Ohio residents in each class at enrollment.

 

Actual graduations from Ohio public high schools have, so far, been somewhere between the various federal projections. This leaves some question whether the expected long-term rebound from the most recent projection will actually occur.

 

Ohio independent colleges and universities have been able to educate increasing numbers of students from their home state, thanks to state programs such as the Student Choice Grant. The future with much more limited funding is cloudy.

 

The supply for traditional-age college students will dry up even faster in Ohio than for the region as a whole (see Midwest regional chart by scrolling down at http://www.aicuo.edu/GraphArchives.aspx). By 2012, there will be one-ninth fewer graduates from the state's high schools than there are this year.

 

Independent College Share of Ohio Undergrads and Alumni

More than two thirds of the undergraduates at Ohio's independent colleges come from the Buckeye State - and more than two thirds of the graduates are still here three years after graduation.

Source: AICUO Annual Report Survey

 

Student Choice Grant Levels

Although the current state budget cut the Student Choice Grant for Ohio students at the state's independent colleges by almost a third, the grant still removes more than $2,500 from a student's loan debt after four years of study.