Sluggish charges of college-going amongst Washington college students have lengthy confounded state enterprise leaders and policymakers. So, it looks like a breath of contemporary air to listen to Robert Jones, newly put in as president on the College of Washington, vow to sort out the query of why so few highschool seniors pursue larger schooling.
The son of Georgia sharecroppers, and the primary in his household to earn a university diploma, Jones is adamant in regards to the significance of that piece of paper. State reviews again him up: Fifteen years after highschool, Washingtonians who by no means accomplished additional research earn about $52,000 yearly — barely sufficient to reside as a single particular person within the Seattle space, not to mention help a household.
Against this, younger individuals who earn a bachelor’s diploma or apprenticeship within the trades take residence salaries roughly twice as giant.
However, regardless of reams of knowledge making this level — and unusually beneficiant monetary help provided by the state — solely 55% of graduating seniors enroll in two- or four-year establishments, a determine that has persevered for years.
In a wide-ranging interview with The Seattle Occasions editorial board, Jones promised to confront this downside by partnering with the Ok-12 system as no UW president has in current reminiscence. He appeared shocked by the truth that Washington ranks 48th nationally for college-going, regardless of an economic system constructed on science and innovation.
“We’ve obtained to determine what’s occurring right here,” Jones mentioned.
It stays to be seen precisely how he’ll make good on this promise. As a scientist with a doctorate in crop physiology, Jones can’t assist declaring that youngsters who’re behind academically by ninth grade are unlikely to catch up in time for commencement. Remedial schooling, he factors out, shouldn’t be a college’s duty.
On the job for simply 4 months, it’s nonetheless early days for Jones. However he has already identified one of the vital persistent riddles in Washington schooling, a forthright method that means a president prepared to shake up the established order. And that’s a change that may’t come quickly sufficient.
