社区黑料

Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for 社区黑料 Newsletter

You might call it a bachelor party: Rhode Island saw an almost 4% increase in bachelor鈥檚 degrees in 2022, according to from a higher education foundation.

鈥淲e did not see this much increase in any other state鈥檚 bachelor鈥檚 degrees,鈥� said Courtney Brown, vice president of impact and planning for the Indianapolis-based Lumina Foundation. 鈥淎nd it looks like it鈥檚 been going up over the last few years. Sometimes, especially in smaller states, it could be a fluke. Maybe it鈥檚 a one-year blip. But when I look at the data from 2017 to 2022, the data have been growing pretty tremendously.鈥�

The foundation focuses on postsecondary attainments 鈥� which includes bachelor鈥檚 degrees, associate degrees and other post-high-school certifications or certificates. Since 2009, Lumina has tracked the trend of state-led goals for attainment, with a nationwide goal of 60% attainment by 2025.

Rhode Island鈥檚 overall attainment rate is 56.7% 鈥� still a ways from the 70% goal for 2025, during the administration of former Gov. Gina Raimondo. With 2025 a not-so-distant horizon anymore, the state鈥檚 new finish line is 70% postsecondary attainment by 2030, according to a presentation by Shannon Gilkey, the state鈥檚 commissioner of postsecondary education, at a Feb. 7 hearing before the Senate Committee on Education.

Rhode Island鈥檚 degree-toting population has quietly climbed in number since 2017, Brown noted: 鈥淧eople sometimes think, 鈥榊ou know, maybe that鈥檚 because there are more people with certificates or certifications.鈥� But that鈥檚 not true in Rhode Island. All of the change has been on degrees.鈥�

While associate degrees haven鈥檛 changed much 鈥� 8.4% attainment in 2017 versus 8.1% in 2022 鈥� bachelor鈥檚 degrees have seen a meteoric rise, especially among people aged 25 to 34. This demographic鈥檚 baccalaureates rose from 23.7% in 2017 to 32.5% in 2022.

鈥淎 10-percentage point increase over five years is attributable to something that鈥檚 happening in the higher ed system,鈥� Brown said. 鈥淭here are practical policies that had to have been put in place years ago, to help more people get into and complete a bachelor鈥檚 degree鈥�None of this was overnight.鈥�

From a national vantage point, it wasn鈥檛 immediately clear to Brown what fostered the change. She estimated these structural changes may have taken place about a decade ago. The numbers are also something of a mystery to education commissioner Gilkey, whose featured the Lumina data.

鈥淲e still need to have a deeper understanding about what鈥檚 really happening underneath the hood, if you will, of this attainment goal and progress towards that attainment goal,鈥� Gilkey testified.

One factor might be the founding of the Promise scholarship in 2017. It helps students attend the Community College of Rhode Island tuition-free, easing access to a four-year degree if a student decides to pursue that path.

鈥淸A transfer] helps with affordability,鈥� Brown said. 鈥淚 can more affordably complete a two-year [degree] so I only have to think about financing two years of the four year degree.鈥�

The Lumina Foundation鈥檚 data paints a generally positive picture of postsecondary education stateside 鈥� after all, Rhode Island was only at 42% attainment in 2009 鈥� but it鈥檚 not pollyannaish. Brown noted that Rhode Island鈥檚 recent successes aren鈥檛 excused from the usual disparities involving access and race.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a slight decline in the Black attainment population, which makes me wonder if a number of people who identify as Black Americans have left Rhode Island,鈥� Brown said.

Black Rhode Islanders went from 34.7% attainment of associate-or-higher degrees in 2021 to 31% attainment in 2022. The Hispanic population鈥檚 attainment rose from 22.9% to 25.8% in that same time period.

Several states like Utah, Colorado and Massachusetts have reached the 60% goal. Washington, D.C. 鈥� a typical outlier 鈥� is highest, with 75.4% of its population holding a postsecondary credential.

But numbers only tell so much of the story: Education after high school, Brown noted, is about more than diplomas.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not just about increasing the number of people with bachelor鈥檚 degrees,鈥� she said. 鈥淸People] want bachelor鈥檚 degrees that can get鈥�a good job and a good life.鈥�

Nationwide results, including Rhode Island, are available in Lumina鈥檚 report.

is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Rhode Island Current maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Janine L. Weisman for questions: [email protected]. Follow Rhode Island Current on and .

Did you use this article in your work?

We鈥檇 love to hear how 社区黑料鈥檚 reporting is helping educators, researchers, and policymakers.