Nebraska Higher Education Progress Report, 2011

This report provides the Nebraska Legislature with comparative statistics to monitor and evaluate progress toward achieving "three key priorities" for Nebraska's postsecondary education system: (1) Increase the number of students who enter postsecondary education in Nebraska; (2) Increase the percentage of students who enroll and successfully complete a degree; and (3) Reduce, eliminate, and then reverse the net out-migration of Nebraskans with high levels of educational attainment. These priorities were developed by the 2003 LR 174 Higher Education Task Force and are incorporated in subdivision (3) of Nebraska Revised Statutes Section 85-1428 (2008). This summary highlights the comparative analysis used to measure and evaluate performance in respect to each priority. Throughout this analysis, the latest available statistics are compared to the quantitative baselines established for the LR 174 Higher Education Task Force in 2004. The research findings in the 2011 Nebraska Higher Education Progress Report reflect modest annual changes in the state's postsecondary education system. Appended are: (1) Nebraska College Enrollments; (2) Actual and Projected Numbers of Nebraska High School Graduates; (3) Nebraska High School Graduation and Dropout Rates; (4) Nebraska Scores on ACT and SAT Student Assessments; (5) Nebraska College Continuation Rates; (6) Nebraska and Non-Nebraska, First-Time Freshmen Migration Data; (7) Nebraska First-Time Freshmen Enrollments by Race/Ethnicity; (8) Financial Aid Programs; (9) IPEDS Freshmen Retention Rates; (10) IPEDS College Graduation Rates; and (11) Estimated Nebraska Net Migration of 22- to 64-Year Olds. (Contains 97 figures and 90 tables.) [For "Nebraska Higher Education Progress Report, 2010," see ED510230.]