State Board of Education hopes to meet higher education goal by 2020

The State Board of Education is in Idaho Falls this week. One of the issues it’s talking about is the goal for 60 percent of Idahoans ages 25-34 to have a certificate or degree of higher education by 2020.

“Most jobs in Idaho, about 68 percent of jobs by that year will require secondary education as a qualification,” said Blake Youde with the State Board of Education.

Right now, 40 percent of Idahoans ages 25-34 have an Associate’s degree, Bachelor’s degree or more.

The board tells Local News 8/KIDK Eyewitness News that percentage is comparable to neighboring states.

If Idaho meets the goal, the state will be a higher education leader not just in the northwest, but across the country.

HOW DO WE GET THERE?
“I think that’s why you see the board take on initiatives like direct admissions where we’ve effectively admitted all 20,000 students to our public colleges and universities. The board has really tried to minimize the tuition fee increases to maintain affordability,” said Youde.

The board believes success is dependent on three factors.

“It’s about courses of study, financial resources, those wrap around support groups like advising to make sure students fulfill their goal, helping us reach our 60 percent goal,” Youde said.

To achieve this goal the state also doubled the amount of money for state school scholarships.

This year students received $10 million in state scholarships.