13-R155
2013 -- S 0512
Enacted 03/20/13
S E N A T E R E
S O L U T I O N
RESPECTFULLY
REQUESTING THE RHODE ISLAND OFFICE OF HIGHER EDUCATION TO ASSIST IN THE
COORDINATION AND EXPANSION OF PROGRAMS WITHIN
Introduced By: Senators Gallo, Pichardo, Satchell, DiPalma, and Lombardi
Date Introduced: February 28, 2013
WHEREAS, the January
2013 "Moving the Needle" report released by the Senate Policy
Office and the Rhode Island Public Expenditure
Council, found that the educational attainment of
the potential for even further growth remained; and
WHEREAS, Median lifetime
earnings increase significantly with increased educational
attainment;
WHEREAS, According to census data, by 2020 over 50 percent of
require some form of postsecondary training; and
WHEREAS Census data, as
recently as 2011, indicated that 42.7 percent of the Rhode
Island’s working-age adults held at least a two-year
degree; and
WHEREAS, Among those Rhode Islanders without a postsecondary degree,
19.7 percent
had at least some college but did not receive a degree;
and
WHEREAS, Many students
do not finish college due to financial or time constraints or
new family or professional commitments, despite being a
year or less away from completing their
degree; and
WHEREAS, Helping these
former students return to school and finish their remaining
classes is a low-risk, high-reward opportunity in increasing
the overall educational attainment of
WHEREAS, Several other states and nonprofit organizations have
focused on getting so-
called ‘ready adults’ – former students with most of their
college credit requirements completed –
back on track for some form of postsecondary degree; and
WHEREAS, In one instance, the state of
90 or more completed credits, many within disciplines
that were critical to the state’s workforce
needs; and
WHEREAS, In recent years,
developed outreach and recruitment programs directed at former
students who were unable to
finish school and get their degree; and
WHEREAS, These programs review the institutions’ records of former
students and
target those who were near completion at the time they left
school by contacting them through
mail, phone call, and electronically, and providing
information on the schools’ websites; and
WHEREAS, In some instances, the outreach programs provide these
students with a
direct academic plan to finish school, and assist students
with enrollment, financial aid, and
support services; and
WHEREAS, Expanding and
fully-resourcing these programs across all three
Rhode
Island public institutions of higher
education represents an
opportunity to leverage a successful
program that is already in place, which can potentially help
hundreds of former students in
obtaining a post-secondary degree at little cost to the state;
now, therefore be it;
RESOLVED,
That this Senate of the State of
respectfully requests the Office of Higher Education, in cooperation
with the
coordination and expansion of programs within
education to proactively identify and reach out to all former
students that were near completion at
the time they left school; to connect these students with
the academic, financial, and support
services they may need; and to aid these students in the
process of completing a postsecondary
degree; and be it further
RESOLVED,
That the Senate hereby requests that the Office of
Higher Education report
back to the General Assembly by January 1, 2014, on the
progress of these coordinated programs,
including the number of former students identified, the number
of students re-enrolled, the
number of students who successfully completed their degree,
and any other information the
Office may deem relevant
including recommendations for further expansion; and be it further
RESOLVED,
That the Secretary of State be and hereby is
authorized and directed to
transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to the Rhode
Island Office of Higher Education,
and the Presidents of the
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LC01644
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