Thanks to Our Sponsors

University of South Alabama

Mobile County Public Schools

Mobile Area Education Foundation

United Way of Southwest AL

The Education Commission

A coalition of civic, educational, and business leaders organized to oversee the alignment of policies and practices affecting education in Greater Mobile.

Richard L. Hayes, University of South Alabama

Educational Oversight The Education Commission

will monitor progress, communicate findings to the public, engage and convene key informants around issues of public interest in education and workforce development, and serve as the coordinating body for key partners in ensuring every child is prepared for entrance into college or a career upon high school graduation.

Richard L. Hayes, University of South Alabama

A Lesson Learned What is needed is

the systemic integration and

alignment of our efforts into an

educational ecosystem aligned with a central and compelling vision of what it means

to be an educated citizen of Mobile.

[Re-]

>

Richard L. Hayes, University of South Alabama

What is needed is the systemic integration and alignment of our efforts into an educational ecosystem aligned with a central and compelling vision of what it means to be an educated citizen of Mobile

In Memoriam

James Lowe, Jr. President Bishop State Community College

ALABAMAby the

numbers

Educational Attainment in AL

• 31.9% of 2.5 million working-age adults (25-64) hold

a two- or four-year degree.

• 33.4% of young adults (25-34) hold a two or four year

degree.

• At the current rate, 38% of Alabama’s adult

population will hold a college degree in 2025 by

adding 514,000 degrees to the total.

IN JUST THE NEXT

FOUR YEARS373,00 of the expected 680,000 job vacancies in Alabama will require post-secondary education and 55% of all jobs will require post-secondary education.

Who and How Many are Graduating?

In school year 2011–12, some 3.1 million public high school students, or 81 percent, graduated on time with a regular diploma.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics

Total White Hispanic Black Asian/PI

Alabama 75 81 69 67 85

USA 81 85 76 68 93

Are Alabama’s High School Graduates Prepared?

• Of Alabama’s 44,751 high school graduates in 2013, 22,915 enrolled in an Alabama public college or university.

• Yet, 31.8% of these students were enrolled in remedial classes in math, English, or both during the Fall 2013 college semester.

• Of Mobile County’s 3,362* graduates that year, 34.1% (range = 17.3%-69.8%) of those who enrolled in a college or university in Alabama tested into one or more remedial classes.

* Based on 12 high schools

AL 4-year Graduation RateSource: National Center for Education Statistics

14

38

75

1009th Grade

High School Graduate

College Freshman

College Graduate

A CHANGING LANDSCAPE FOR

HIGHER EDUCATION• Global growth of unemployment• Declining number of jobs for

unskilled and semi-skilled workers• Diminishing financial support for higher education• Innovative experimentation with technology• Increasing pressure to increase enrollment• Increasing use of IP-based educational digital

content, social networking, open licensing• Growing demand for life-long learning

College isn’t what it used to be …

• Increased Demand for Informal Short Courses• Proliferation of Certification Programs• Increased Access to Intellectual Capital• Diversification of Teaching Methods• Diversification of Learning Styles• Variability in Time and Place

and won’t be again.

SO WHAT’S TO BE DONE?Articulate Goals and Expectations Create Pathways and SupportsDevelop Measurable Outcomes

WHAT IS THE ROLE FOR POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION IN IMPROVING THE EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT OF ALL

OUR STUDENTS?

The College of Education Founders Day lecture was established in 2007 to

recognize the significant contributions by its faculty, students, and alumni to the

well-being of the citizens of Alabama by hosting an annual lecture on a critical issue in education by a distinguished

national expert. 

Previous presenters have included: 

Kati Haycock, Executive Director, The Education Trust

Martin HabermanDistinguished Professor, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Linda Darling-Hammond Ducommun Professor of Education, Stanford University

Carl Glickman President, Institute for Schools, Education, and Democracy

Sharon Robinson President and CEO, American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education

Freeman A. Hrabowski III President, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Nancy Zimpher Chancellor, State University of New York

DR. GREGORY G. FITCHExecutive Director