State universities court dropouts back to class

TAMPA - To all of you who got halfway to your bachelor's degree but never finished: Florida's state universities want you back.

Officials trying to boost sagging graduation rates say thousands across Florida have left college in the past decade with only one or two semesters to go.

Holding on to current students is still a priority, but "this is another group that we think we can help to get over the finish line," said Ann Duncan, of Tampa, a member of the state university Board of Governors.

The board will hear from University of South Florida and University of West Florida officials this week about smoothing the way for what they call "adult learner completers."

Initial research from board staff shows that at least 14,000 Floridians have completed 60 to 90 public college or university credits since 2004. Nearly 2 million have some college credit.

These people must be recognized if the state is going to meet the workforce needs of the future, said Duncan, who leads a board committee that's been working on the issue for several months.

It can be complicated, she said. College credits might not be easily transferred, and potential students may have obligations that prevent them from attending classes.

USF has already begun working through the issues. It was recently awarded a $1 million endowment from the Bernard Osher Foundation's Reentry Scholarship Program. The gift followed three $50,000 Osher grants since 2007 that paid for scholarships for 37 returning students.

Several other states have created programs to lure partial college finishers back.

"These are people who made a major commitment to their education at one time," said Phil Moss, a former Oklahoma higher education official who helped set up a program there.

"It seems to make a lot of sense to say, 'We want to help you get to that finish line now.'"

He conceded there have always been college dropouts. What's different is the economy.

There was a time "when a high school (diploma) was going to get you a good job with a good pension, but those days are gone. The majority of jobs out there require more."

That issue worries officials in Florida, where just 25.6 percent of people over age 25 have a bachelor's degree or higher, according to 2010 Census data.

University graduates earn an average of $20,000 a year more than people with only high school diplomas, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of 2010 Census data.

Getting more people through college "could have a big impact on the state economy," said Duncan, president and founder of commercial real estate brokerage and consulting firm Vertical Integration, Inc.

A college-returner program is also easier to do now than ever before, with many resources provided online.

Moss said Oklahoma offers a "suite" of services to returning students, including courses that combine online classes with face-to-face meetings. Some courses concentrate the work into eight or 16 weeks.

Florida universities already offer a range of programs to nontraditional students.

"We're not necessarily going to create all-new online programs," Duncan said. "It's a matter of leveraging what we already have in place."