Idaho gets ‘D’ in enrollment

BOISE – Idaho gets a “D” grade for the number of its students going to college, a rank that puts the state alongside Georgia, Mississippi and South Carolina.

There’s only a 35 percent chance that a student in Idaho who is 19 or younger will go to college, according to the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, a San Jose, Calif., nonprofit research group that studies education in all 50 states. That’s down from 40 percent in 1992, the group said.

Just 26 percent of the state’s 18- to 24-year-olds are enrolled at a college or university, compared with 42 percent in states like Michigan and Connecticut, which rank at the top of the group’s list.

A dearth of state-funded financial aid appears to be one reason Idaho students often stop their education after high school, according to the California group. In 2006, Idaho ranked 46th in the nation for its state contribution to low-income students’ tuition, according to Iowa-based education policy analyst Tom Mortenson.

“Idaho does very little in terms of providing financial aid to needy students,” Joni Finney, vice president of the group, told the Idaho Statesman.

Idaho has been trying to address that, with the 2007 Legislature setting aside $10 million for scholarships to help low-income residents.

Many students are held back by low expectations, said Boise State University President Bob Kustra, who in 2005 and 2006 lobbied the Legislature successfully to strengthen high school graduation requirements so more students would be ready for college.

There’s also a perception in many families that college isn’t worth the cost, or that it’s too expensive, he said.

“We must roll up our sleeves to create a mind-set among our young people, their parents and their elected officials that higher education is the key to a prosperous future for us all no matter where the students enroll,” Kustra said.

In the 2008 Legislature that starts in January, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Luna hopes to get lawmakers to sign off on more money so students can take college classes in their junior and senior years of high school.

“Maybe some of those students who don’t believe they’re college-ready would have that experience and see that they are college material, and would be encouraged to go on,” said Luna’s spokeswoman, Melissa McGrath.

In addition, state education officials are still hoping to secure money from private foundations to help it qualify for the state and federally funded “Gear Up” program that could help about 7,000 low-income students statewide get ready for college. The state Board of Education spent the last two months securing $3.2 million for the program, but still needs an additional $1.3 million over the next five years, it has said.