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one 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 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: info@rhodeislandcurrent.com. Follow Rhode Island Current on and .

InsideTrack coaches, many of whom are former social workers and teachers, will serve as virtual mentors throughout the academic year. They will support students in addressing barriers to college completion 鈥� developing plans for everything from employment and financing car repairs to communicating academic or mental health needs to professors.

鈥淲e know, during this particular period, there’s a lot of challenges that have been exacerbated for students. We want the coaching to help students develop critical, non-academic skills to be able to finish their degrees,鈥� said Dennis Olson, commissioner of Minnesota鈥檚 higher education office, citing time management and the ability to balance academics with family commitments.

鈥淲hen we’re on the other side of this pandemic, in economic recovery, we know we’re going to need students to have those skills into the future.鈥�

The partnership comes at a time when, nationwide, students are and changing their enrollment plans at rates intensified by the pandemic.

With sustainability in mind, the nonprofit will also coach state employees on how to use their mentorship and success model. In two to three years, Minnesota鈥檚 Office of Higher Education hopes to run and expand the coaching program in-house to support more than just first-time borrowers, encompassing those who may be nearer to graduation or who have re-enrolled years after their initial loan.

Olson said that the coaching initiative will help the state reach its of having 70 percent of the state鈥檚 population aged 25-44 completing some level of higher education or credential by 2025. Minnesota faces education opportunity gaps along race and income lines.

The state鈥檚 2020 estimates show that almost 69 percent of white Minnesotans have earned higher education credentials, while 37 percent of Black Minnesotans and 28 percent of Hispanic/Latino adults have done so.

For years, higher education institutions in Minnesota have offered financial counseling for their students and resources for first-generation students, but 鈥渨e wanted more鈥�, Olson told 社区黑料.

鈥淭his isn’t just another form of student loan counseling, we wanted students to really have access to student success coaches at the state level. This is important 鈥� that the state agency be the one leading this effort and providing the service. We want students to have an opportunity to achieve their goals to make sure they understand how to navigate all those obstacles they may encounter,鈥� he said.

In the 2021-22 academic year, $25,000 in emergency funds will also be available for students involved with the InsideTrack partnership facing urgent circumstances that could derail their college careers, like car breakdowns, child care needs or food insecurity. This funding is in addition to .

While InsideTrack also supports Indiana by providing residents with career coaching, the scope and scale of its Minnesota work is a first for the organization, founded in 2001. Historically, they鈥檝e maintained relationships with institutions directly, including California State Universities.

鈥淚nstitutions have 100 things going on and things that they’re trying to prioritize every day for their students. It can be hard to take an issue like their students鈥� progress towards graduation over something like student safety,鈥� said Ruth Bauer White, InsideTrack鈥檚 president. 鈥淸State-level partnerships] are a way for us to have access to students and to prioritize that aid without an individual institution having to make that decision.鈥�

InsideTrack鈥檚 coaches walk through 鈥渇ocus wheel鈥� areas with students to understand their daily needs and what plans should be put in place to stay on-track for graduation. Some topic areas are managing commitments, mental and physical health, financial security and motivation for, or belief in, completion.

Mental health has been the most common focus area for InsideTrack nationally this year, according to Bauer White. The organization developed a crisis response team that Minnesota college students can be referred to for more resources and support.

Quantitative and qualitative data will be routinely shared with Minnesota鈥檚 higher education office, including which focus areas students cite most often with their coaches.

鈥淭hose are the things that we can bring to life for the state of Minnesota in a way that you can’t do if you’re not having that daily contact with students,鈥� Bauer White said.

The program鈥檚 impact will be evaluated by University of Minnesota researchers, who will compare student success measures for the 1,500 randomly selected coached students to those of first-time loan borrowers in a similarly sized control group who did not receive coaching.

鈥淸Data] will help inform particular asks, legislative initiatives and priorities,鈥� said Thomas Sanford, the higher education office鈥檚 assistant commissioner for operations. 鈥淚t’s a feedback loop that we can utilize to help support all of Minnesota.鈥�