University presidents and administrators from around the state Wednesday gave presentations on their progress in Oklahoma's degree completion goals to the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education.
Chancellor Glen Johnson said while they often discuss the state's progress in the national Complete College Americainitiative, it was important to hear from the individual schools and find out where their successes have come from.
Governor Mary Fallin announced in 2011 her goal for the state to award more than 50,900 degrees per year by 2023. In 2011, the state awarded just 30,500, but has increased its graduates by more than the yearly expected total each year since the announcement.
University of Central OklahomaPresident Don Betz, whose campus hosted the announcement, said he was proud of that day and proud of the progress his school and the state have made since.
After three years of the program, Betz said UCO is still churning out more new degree recipients than the state has challenged them to, though he added that he was not sure how long they could continue to exceed the goal.
Oklahoma City Community College President Paul Sechrist also said the development of CORE has assisted his school in degree completion. Remediation pass rates, especially in math, have greatly improved at his school since 2011, he said.
Sechrist said offering programs for the specific type of students they receive at OCCC has helped as well. He said he realizes many of his students won't finish their associate's degree in just two years, and many of them are working jobs and supporting families while also attending school. Sechrist said the school has had more than 500 childcare enrollments since it began offering the service on campus.
Tom McKeon, a new member of the regent's Complete College America team and former Tulsa Community College president, said he is impressed by how effective the state has been in degree completion.
He also said the state should work to understand the data it receives on degree completion and share the data that is available more freely. They also shouldn't be afraid of bad numbers, he said, because they won't all be good.
McKinnon also said the state should also revisit its Complete College America plan and continue to push reform in remediation, which is where many schools have seen success.
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