Another Reason to Invest in Academic Libraries

Thursday, Jan. 31 2008
With College Affordability an Issue, U.S. Falls Behind in Degree Attainment
“PHOENIX, AZ, Jan 31, 2008 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) — The United States continues to fall behind other major industrialized nations in terms of the percentage of the population with a college degree, according to a recent series of joint studies released by the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems and Jobs for the Future.
Currently ranked tenth among industrialized countries in the percentage of 25-34-year-olds holding an associate’s degree or higher, the U.S. is projected to slip further, ranking near the bottom in the percentage of entering students that complete a degree program. Notably, the U.S. now stands as one of the only countries where older adults are more educated than younger adults.”
There needs to be a huge investment to create the workers needed to remain globally competitive. This, by definition, should include advanced development of the library infratsricture necessary to create the graduates of tomorrow. The US will be 16 million graudates short by 2025 just to match leading nations liek Canada, Japan, and South Korea in the percentage of adults with a college degree.
Check out the full release.
Stephen