The educational attainment future of St. Joseph County

As a new school year approaches, I cannot help but reflect on the unfulfilled potential of Glen Oaks Community College in changing the lives of more of our community members. In this, our 55th year of service to the region, we are still serving a similar number of students as in 1967 when the college opened in the old White Pigeon High School. While enrollment has fluctuated over the years, the full potential for serving a larger number of students makes one yearn for a greater impact. Why? Because when we serve students, we change lives for the better, and they and their families have better lives in all aspects, not just their professions and work.

I am not writing this to elicit additional enrollment for the sake of the college but with a sincere desire to improve the economic and social futures of our community members. I have written similar pieces before that have provided the data that supports the value of a college education, so I will not repeat all the data here. Suffice it to say that the more post-high school education a person has, the greater income, financial stability and socioeconomic status he or she has.

The 2020 census data concerning St. Joseph County, reported in 2022, provides rich data across many facets of the region’s status. The area I am reporting on here deals with educational attainment and income. The chart below depicts the educational level of all county citizens 25 and older. As you can see, we have a very high number of individuals with some college, but no degree, 23.53%, with 20.80 % holding an associate degree, 10.11% a bachelor’s, and 5.9% a graduate degree. The total of citizens with some college or more is 50.30%, which would seem to be significant. But when you remove those with only some college, the total is 26.80%.

Education Attained                   Count             Percentage

Less Than 9th Grade               2,604             6.36%

9th to 12th Grade                    2,908             7.11%

High School Graduate           14,799          36.16%

Some College                         9,631          23.53%

Associates Degree                 4,419          10.80%

Bachelor’s Degree                 4,139           10.11%

Graduate Degree                   2,424            5.92%

As many will note, the governor’s goal for the state is 60 by 30, meaning 60% of working age adults will hold a certificate or degree by 2030. The data I sited above on St. Joseph County does not discern the difference between some colleges and a certificate. This is because it is only recently that a certificate that prepares one to go directly to a high-wage position such as a computer technician has not been called out in data mining. Setting this aside for the sake of this refrain, I would suggest that a significant percentage of the "some college" individuals in SJC data, do not hold a certificate that has prepared them for successful entry into a life-sustaining wage.

Let’s look at the poverty levels of SCJ adults to discern what the impact of a post-high school education has on a person’s economic life. The data presented below show the percentage of working-age adults in SJC who are poor. As you can see, the less education one has, the greater the likelihood of being in poverty. These data reflect the poverty rates of the various education levels within the overall poverty rate in the country. The overall poverty rate for SJC is 14.35%.

Name                                       Poverty

Less Than 9th Grade               23.42%

High School                             12.46%

Some College                          8.56%

Bachelors or Greater              3.99%

I believe that the greatest challenge we have in raising the income levels of SJC citizens is the large percentage of working-age adults with some college but no certificate or degree. Glen Oaks may well be adding to this problem by enrolling large numbers of high school students in dual enrollment and then not seeing them matriculate on the GOCC or another test after completing high school. Over the past decade, the college has enrolled hundreds of high school students in general education and CTE courses, granting thousands of hours of college credit. While many do return to GOCC or take their credit and transfer on, there is a large percentage that enter into their work lives without the credentials that would help them garner great income and satisfaction. There are special state of Michigan programs that can help adults return to college for free or nearly so. Below are two such programs.

The Michigan Reconnect program will help pay the cost of tuition or training for eligible adults who want to pursue an associate degree or skills certificate at their in-district community college. Glen Oaks enrolled 27 students in Reconnect in summer 2021, 80 in Fall 2021, 82 in Winter 2022; and 43 this summer, 2022. The state program will continue during the upcoming Fall Semester. Classes start on Tuesday, Aug. 30. You may learn more about this program at the GOCC website or by calling 269-294-4303.

David H. Devier is president of Glen Oaks Community College

This article originally appeared on Sturgis Journal: Opinion