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Higher Ed Council Sets Goal To Boost Education Levels Of Floridians

Educational attaintment goals by state
Higher Education Coordinating Council
Educational attaintment goals by state

Florida’s higher education coordinating council wants to see more working age Floridians with certifications and degrees.

Educational attaintment goals by state
Credit Higher Education Coordinating Council
Educational attaintment goals by state

The council wants to see fifty-five percent of Floridians between the age of 25 and 64 earning industry certifications or degrees by 2025. State University system governing board chairman Alan Levine says it will require greater coordination between the state’s primary schools and its higher education system.

“If we establish this as a goal for the state we have to get the policy markers and the legislators and folks that can make this happen—they have to buy into this. From the Board of Governors to the Board of Education," he says.

State University System Chancellor Marshall Criser says Florida is following a national trend.

Florida's educational attainment levels
Credit Higher Education Coordinating Council
Florida's educational attainment levels

“We’re not the first. We won’t be the last. But I think it still tells us this is incredibly important and it’s an important national conversation. It’s a conversation that’s originating at the state level, and working together, we’re moving the needle across the country.”

The council is incorporating its goal into a grant application to the Lumina Foundation. The private organization wants to see 60 percent of Americans with some form of college degree, certificate or other advanced credential by 2025. 

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Lynn Hatter is a Florida A&M University graduate with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. Lynn has served as reporter/producer for WFSU since 2007 with education and health care issues as her key coverage areas. She is an award-winning member of the Capital Press Corps and has participated in the NPR Kaiser Health News Reporting Partnership and NPR Education Initiative. When she’s not working, Lynn spends her time watching sci-fi and action movies, writing her own books, going on long walks through the woods, traveling and exploring antique stores. Follow Lynn Hatter on Twitter: @HatterLynn.
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