We’re clearing new paths toward higher education in Texas

Will your child grow up to be an attorney or the next big software developer?

Will the young adult you mentor become a physician or healthcare administrator, manage data networks, create innovative solutions as a systems engineer or manage financial portfolios?

In the future, without a post-secondary credential, that student may never achieve his or her full potential and the kind of economic opportunity that has long been the hallmark of our great state.

Gov. Greg Abbott and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board have announced an ambitious challenge: ensure that 60 percent of all Texans ages 25 to 34 hold a post-secondary certificate or degree by 2030, that we graduate at least 550,000 post-secondary students annually by 2030, and that those graduates complete programs with identifiably marketable skills and manageable student debt.

It is a significant challenge when one considers that only about 38.5 percent of young Texas adults currently hold a degree or certificate and that our higher education institutions collectively award 300,000 degrees and certificates a year.

The first regional 60x30TX workshop held April 5 at The University of Texas at Arlington in partnership with the THECB brought together 200 of the best minds in all facets of education, workforce preparation, the corporate sector and the community to forge new, specific and results-driven approaches to creating pathways to academic and professional success for students from preschool through college.

Students and families need straightforward information about degree paths and plans as early as possible to understand how and when to leverage early college credit opportunities; to understand the intricacies of and how to apply for financial aid; and which classes to take in which term, with easily accessible degree maps that span the two- and four-year college experience.

Together, we need to identify new ways of introducing higher education to students in their earliest years; aligning curricula so that courses count toward timely degree progression; creating seamless partnerships between high schools, community colleges and four-year institutions; and ensuring that students are adequately prepared at each stage to successfully complete the next.

Our workshop discussions highlighted the importance of overcoming administrative hurdles between our institutions, sharing student data strategically, re-engaging “stop-outs,” and dramatically reducing the accumulation of excess credit hours if we are to achieve our ambitious 60x30TX goals.

Support is coalescing around proven models that engage students early to plan for what they will study in college rather than to ask if they will attend.

School principals praised programs like UTA’s GO Centers, which place college-age mentors on high school campuses and in communities, and the early admissions initiative Bound for Success, which engages high school juniors and parents support and guidance toward a college degree with.

The recently formed UTA-Arlington Independent School District Teacher Academy and STEM Academy partnerships that align high school and university curricula, including through the use of dual credit courses, were discussed as examples of initiatives that can accelerate success.

These and many more innovative mechanisms need to be implemented if we are to meet the goals.

With a clear regional focus and purposeful collaboration, we can achieve the bold 60x30TX goals.

The workshop was just the beginning of stronger partnerships that will assure the future of Texas.

We will work together to ensure the higher education is not just a dream but is attainable for Texans of all backgrounds.

The vitality of the Texas economy depends upon our developing paths to meet both workforce and intellectual capital needs of the state.

Together, we will ensure that Texas leads the nation.

This story was originally published April 15, 2016 at 6:33 PM with the headline "We’re clearing new paths toward higher education in Texas."