LITTLE ROCK -- Data from the Arkansas Department of Higher Education shows that the state's four-year college graduation rate has steadily increased in the past five years.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that 27.6 percent of the more than 16,600 students who enrolled in four-year institution in fall 2011 graduated in four years.
The most recent numbers are a jump from the 23.1 percent of students who enrolled in fall 2007, as well as the 23.6 percent of students who enrolled in fall 2009 and graduated at the same pace.
The state's 10-year graduation rate has remained steady for the past five years, with 42 percent of more than 14,500 first-time students starting in fall 2005 and graduating a decade later.
The state's six-year graduation rate, at 39.7 percent, fell slightly in 2015 compared with the previous year, but has remained steady in the past five years.
State officials have been trying to increase the college graduation rate because a better-educated workforce attracts higher-paying jobs to the state and helps improve residents' standard of living.
"There are a number of areas that institutions are working on like remediation to make sure that we're getting students in the right courses, getting them the right support," said Brett Powell, a director at the Department of Higher Education. "The progress looks great. We definitely want to see more of that, but it's also about looking at are we meeting the state's needs in what happens."
Arkansas' graduation rate has consistently fallen below the national average, which was 59.6 percent for first-time, full-time students who began seeking bachelor's degrees at four-year institutions in fall 2007 and earned degrees six years later.
State Desk on 05/03/2016