NC Strategic Scorecard
4.1.2 Advanced Educational Attainment

Target: At least 100% of US average college attainment rate
Actual: 85% of US average
US Rank 2004: 41st (down from 33rd in 1995)
SE Rank 2004: 6tht (down from 4th in 1995)
SE Region: AL FL GA KY MS NC SC TN VA WV   Updated 3/29/06
 
Primary Performance Indicator




Percent of Adults With College Degrees
 Performance Trend:
Stable
The trend depicts the degree to which actual performance has approached the target in recent years.
Comments
•
 From 1995 to 2004, NC’s college attainment rate for all adults aged 25 years old or older improved from 20.6% to 23.4%, but fell further below the national average.
•
 NC’s national college attainment rank for adults 25 years old or older rose from 33rd in 1995 to as high as 23rd in 1998, before slipping to 41st in 2004. During the same time period, NC’s regional rank for adults aged 25 years or older fluctuated from as high as 2nd to as low as 6th.
•
 Among younger adults (aged 18-24), NC’s college attainment rankings appear somewhat higher—in 2000, NC was ranked 30th in the US and 4th in the SE region. More notably, from 1990 to 2000, NC experienced the 14th best improvement in college attainment among young adults in the US and the 4th best improvement in the SE region.
  Definition (What Is Being Measured)
Percent of residents aged 25 years or older who hold college bachelor degrees.
Source: US Census Bureau, Educational Attainment in the US, US Census Bureau, American Community Survey; rankings from Morgan Quitno.		 Relevance (Why This Is Important)
The four-year college degree attainment rate is both a predictor of higher pay levels and a broad measure of a state's effectiveness in producing a more competitive workforce.
 
Other Highlights
North Carolina
•
 In 2002, 29.6% of NC’s total workforce held college degrees, giving NC a national rank of 45th.
•
 The US Census Bureau has estimated that, on average, a college graduate will make at least $1 million more than a high school graduate over a lifetime.
•
 From 2000 to 2003, the graduate degree attainment ratio in NC increased from 6.7% to 7.8 (Source: US Census Bureau).
 
Other
• It is estimated that, on average, a college graduate will make at least $1 million more than a high school graduate over a lifetime (Source: US Census Bureau). In 2000, the racial gap for bachelor degree attainment was 3.4%.
Southeast Region
National
Global
  Data Links
 US Census Bureau
  
National Center for Public Policy & Higher Education
Imperative 4:   High Performance Workforce
Goal 4.1: Produce Workers With Competitive Skills