Measuring Up 2008: The State Report Card on Higher Education. Rhode Island [Summary]

The purpose of a state report card is to provide the general public and policymakers with information to assess and improve post secondary education in each state. "Measuring Up 2008" is the fifth in a series of biennial report cards that evaluates states in six overall performance categories: (1) Preparation for post-secondary education and training; (2) Participation; (3) Affordability; (4) Completion; (5) Benefits; and (6) Learning. Respective findings for Rhode Island relative to best-performing states include: (1) Fairly low performance in educating its young population could limit state access to a competitive workforce and weaken the state economy; (2) College opportunities for young and working-age adults are fairly low; (3) Higher education has become less affordable for students and their families; (4) Rhode Island performs very well in awarding certificates and degrees; (5) A large proportion of residents have a bachelor's degree, yet the economic benefits to the state as a result are only fair; and (6) Like all states, Rhode Island receives an "Incomplete" in Learning because there is not sufficient data to allow meaningful state-by-state comparisons. Based on previous state performance, the percentage of young adults in Rhode Island who earn a high school diploma has increased since the early 1990s; college enrollment of young adults in Rhode Island has improved considerably since the early 1990s; college enrollment of working-age adults, relative to the number of residents without a bachelor's degree, has declined substantially; the share of family income, after financial aid, needed to pay for college has declined slightly at two-year institutions but has risen substantially at four-year institutions; the number of undergraduate credentials and degrees awarded in Rhode Island, relative to the number of students enrolled, has remained stable since the early 1990s; and the percentage of residents who have a bachelor's degree has increased substantially. (Contains 7 figures.) [For the National Report, see ED503494. For the complete Rhode Island report, see ED503608.]