Higher education leaders in Kentucky released a plan this week to raise the number of adults in higher education. It’s called Moving Up and contains steps to help reach the goal of 60 percent of Kentucky adults with a higher education degree or certificate by 2030.
Aaron Thompson is President of the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education, which produced the plan. Thompson said Kentucky ranks 35th in the nation for the education of its workforce.
“It's important also to know that we've lost 50%, approximately of our adult learners, since 2013, and 14. So we're gonna have to really double down on what we need to do to serve that population group,” said Thompson.
Thompson said the first part of the plan focuses on increasing accessibility. To that end, he said, the council is rolling out a web based informational portal.
“That's very specific to adult learners that will talk about everything from how they can afford to go to college and the other kind of resources they need. We're going to also talk about that value proposition,” said Thompson.
Thompson explained that people with postsecondary degrees not only make more money in their lifetime, but they also tend to be healthier and happier.
Thompson said the new one-stop student portal will launch within six months. The portal will have financial aid, return on investment and career-relevant program information.
He said more long-term plans include working with higher education institutions and community partners to support students through classes and on to employment.
In a sea of partisan news, WEKU is your source for public service, fact-based journalism. Monthly sustaining donors are the top source of funding for this growing nonprofit news organization. Please join others in your community who support WEKU by making your donation.
