South By North Strategies, Ltd.

The latest installment of the 2010 The State of The South Report, published by MDC, Inc. in Chapel Hill, considers how changes to state-level policies and programs related to postsecondary education can help young adults advance economically. From the report …

The bottom-line argument of this paper is: It is imperative that the South dramatically increase the number of its citizens who obtain a bachelor’s degree, an associate’s degree, a certification, or a job-ready credential. Just as it is urgent that the South attack the too-high drop out rate in high schools, so it is crucial that the region raise its completion rates in postsecondary education. In many places across the region, the pathways from high school to a good job have cracks here, barriers there, sometimes leading nowhere but to a dead end. Straightening and smoothing those pathways requires institutional transformation and policy reform across systems of education, from public schools to community colleges to universities.