Strategic Agenda for Postsecondary Education

A primary duty of the Council is the development and implementation of a strategic agenda, which aligns state and institutional goals and then sets the strategies by which these goals will be achieved and resourced.

Kentucky's Goal: 60% with Degrees and Credentials by 2030

The state goal is to raise the percentage of Kentuckians with a high-quality postsecondary degree or certificate to 60 percent by the year 2030. Achieving this goal is critical to accelerate job creation, grow the economy, and expand the tax base through the contributions of a more skilled, productive workforce. 

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Agenda Publications

• Mid-Term Revised: 2022-2030 Strategic Agenda
• 2022-30 Strategic Agenda
• 2016-21 Strategic Agenda

Campus Plans

• Eastern Kentucky University
• Kentucky Community and Technical College System
• Morehead State University
• Murray State University
• Northern Kentucky University
• University of Kentucky
• University of Louisville
• Western Kentucky University

Guiding Legislation

• Powers and duties - KRS 164.020

Guiding Data

• Progress Report Dashboard, 2016-22 (CPE)

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2022-30 Strategic Agenda

The Council's statewide strategic agenda for 2022-30, "Higher Education Matters," relies on the contributions of many constituencies and committees, including CPE board members, higher education leaders, faculty members, students, K-12 educators, legislators, employers and partners - that provided valuable insight and direction throughout the development process.

 

Equity: The Cross-Cutting Priority

Inequities in Kentucky’s educational systems have exacerbated disparities in employment, income and health. These opportunity gaps prevent all Kentuckians from reaching their full potential. 

A critical focus of the strategic agenda is creating equitable higher education opportunities for low-income and minoritized Kentuckians. The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated how easily academic momentum can be stalled by unemployment, poor physical or mental health, food and housing insecurity and the lack of reliable broadband access. All strategies in this agenda must ensure at-risk students are provided access to life-changing postsecondary credentials, as well as the academic, social and emotional supports to succeed. Doing so is both an economic and moral imperative.

Priority: Affordability

Over the last two decades, federal and state disinvestment in public higher education has shifted the majority of college costs to students and their families. In 2000, Kentucky subsidized 66% of operational costs for public postsecondary institutions, with tuition and fees covering the remaining 34%. By 2020, the state’s share of funding was down to 32%, with 68% borne by students.

CPE will work with elected leaders to increase state funding for postsecondary education and student financial aid, so rising costs are not passed on to students. In addition, we will work to limit increases in tuition and fees, while exploring partnership opportunities to help incoming students understand the complexities of college pricing, and the role of grants, scholarships and responsible borrowing in managing costs.

Objectives

1. Reduce financial barriers to college enrollment and completion.
2. Improve the public’s understanding of how to pay for college.

Key Indicators

• First-time, In-state Student Unmet Need (State- and Campus-Level): The total cost of attendance (tuition, fees, room and board, transportation, textbooks and other costs) for an academic year minus Student Aid Index or SAI (formerly Expected Family Contribution or EFC) and all financial aid, excluding loans.
• Debt at Graduation (Contextual Metric): The sum of loans taken from the year of first enrollment to the highest undergraduate credential earned.
• Time to Degree (Contextual Metric): The average total number of academic years students are enrolled prior to undergraduate degree or credential completion.

Priority: Transitions

Over the decade, the U.S. saw little movement in the percentage of high school seniors enrolling directly in college, which remained around 66%. Kentucky, on the other hand, experienced a rather steep decline in its in-state college-going rate, falling from 55% in 2014 to 50.5% in 2019. 

It is unrealistic to expect high school guidance counselors to help every student navigate the maze of college admission requirements and decisions. One trend exacerbating this workload is the increase in students utilizing Kentucky's many dual credit opportunities prior to college. With its partners, CPE will advocate for dedicated college coaches and advisors serving every school district in the Commonwealth, and create resources that walk students and their parents step-by-step through the planning and application process.

Objectives

3. Increase students’ readiness to enter postsecondary education.
4. Increase enrollment in postsecondary education.

Key Indicators

• Undergraduate Enrollment (State- and Campus-Level): Total unduplicated number of students who enroll in an undergraduate program in an academic year, either full-time or part-time.
• Immediate College-Going Rate (State-Level): Percent of recent Kentucky high school graduates who attend any in-state or out-of-state postsecondary institution in the summer, fall or spring following high school graduation.
• FAFSA Completion (Contextual Metric): Percent of high school seniors who complete the FAFSA in an academic year.

Priority: Success

Kentucky’s colleges and universities made impressive gains in retention and completion over the last decade. The six-year graduation rate rose from 47.6% to 56.4% at public universities, while the three-year graduation rate at KCTCS jumped 13.3 points to 33%. However, while institutions are narrowing completion gaps at a historic pace, more progress is needed to close them. The six-year graduation rate of African-American/Black, Hispanic/Latinx, indigenous and mixed-race students currently stands at 44%, and the three-year rate is 24.3%.

Increasing degree production for everyone is an overriding concern of this agenda, but we are not prioritizing quantity over quality. From certificates to doctorates, we must ensure students master the content, skills and mindsets necessary for future success and fulfillment. The challenge is producing quality credentials at a pace commensurate with our overarching attainment goal.

Objectives

5. Increase persistence in and timely completion of postsecondary programs.
6. Maximize transfer of academic and experiential credit.
7. Ensure academic offerings are high-quality, relevant and inclusive.

Key Performance Indicators

• Undergraduate Degrees and Credentials (State- and Campus-Level): Total degrees and credentials awarded by public universities and KCTCS institutions.
• 150% Graduation Rate (State- and Campus-Level): The percent of first-time, full-time credential-seeking students receiving a bachelor’s degree within six years at public universities, or an associate degree or credential within three years at KCTCS from their starting institution.
• Two-Year to Four-Year Transfer (Sector Level): Percent of first-time, full-time credential-seeking students entering KCTCS in the fall who transfer to any in-state, four-year public institution within three years of entry.
• Retention Rate (State- and Campus-Level): Percent of first-time, credential-seeking students enrolled in the summer or fall who return to the same institution the following fall. 

Priority: Talent

A primary purpose of postsecondary education is to produce adaptive, highly skilled workers to fuel the economy. In the recent past, a high school education was sufficient to secure gainful employment capable of supporting a family. However, automation and outsourcing are rendering these jobs nearly obsolete.

A 2021 report by the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce estimates that the state has 90,000 to 100,000 job openings in any given month, and 65% to 85% of these vacancies require training, credentialing or degrees
beyond high school. 

Kentucky must expand postsecondary access to undereducated, working-age adults to fill critical work shortages in healthcare, STEM fields, early childhood development and other high-demand areas.

Objectives

8. Improve the career outcomes of postsecondary graduates.
9. Increase research and service to support strong communities and economies.

Key Performance Indicators

• Graduate and Professional Degrees (State- and Campus-Level): Total number of graduate/professional degrees awarded in an academic year.
• Statewide Educational Attainment Goal (State-Level): Percent of Kentuckians ages 25-64 with a postsecondary credential (certificate or higher).
• Graduates Working or Pursuing More Education (Contextual Metric): Percent of certificate, associate and bachelor’s degree graduates working in Kentucky or pursuing additional education one year following graduation.
• Institutional Degree Premium (Contextual Metric): Average wage of in-state postsecondary graduates by degree level compared to the state median.

Priority: Value

Even before the pandemic, Americans were questioning the value of higher education. The extent of this skepticism varies according to socioeconomic status, political party affiliation, geographic region and other factors.

A 2021 survey conducted by the American Association of American Colleges and Universities and the Bipartisan Policy Center asked adults whether college was definitely or probably still worth it. Overall, only 27% of respondents believed college was definitely worth it; another 33% said it probably was.

Negative beliefs about the value of college, though widespread, are based more on feeling than fact. College’s return on investment in strict financial terms depends on how much you paid for your degree and the marketability of your chosen field. Some students reap greater financial rewards than others.

It is our hope that increasing higher education’s value proposition will lead to greater investment from both the General Assembly and the private sector. More profoundly, it will restore our belief in higher education’s ability to put Americans on a path to future prosperity and fulfillment.

Objectives

10. Increase public belief in the power of postsecondary education.
11. Build support for greater investment in postsecondary education.

Key Performance Indicators

• State General Fund Appropriations: Percent change in net general fund appropriations for full-time equivalent students, excluding state financial aid or state monies for debt service.
• Economic Mobility: Proportion of low-income students who are earning salaries above the 50th percentile of Kentucky wages within three years of graduation.