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Ken Wingate: S.C. Commission on Higher Education: Competitiveness begins with educated work force

This editorial was originally published in The StateMr. Wingate, a founding partner of the Sweeny Wingate & Barrow law firm in Columbia, chairs the S.C. Commission on Higher Education.

Unemployment in South Carolina, regardless of whose statistics you use, reveals a basic flaw in our work force: We lack enough college graduates to build a strong economy.

In 2007, the national unemployment rate for adults with less than a high school education was 7.1 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The median income for this group was $22,256 annually. High school graduates fared somewhat better: 4.4 percent unemployment and a median income of $35,516. College graduates, by contrast, faced 2.2 percent unemployment and had median earnings of $51,324.

Not only does education pay in financial return, but the social benefits are immeasurable. The correlation between an individual's higher education attainment and improved health, lower crime rates and stronger family life is almost 1:1. Social scientists can debate whether educational attainment is the cause or the effect, but the correlation is undeniable.

Higher education is an area in which South Carolina can make significant strides, with some political leadership. Currently, less than 24 percent of our adult population holds a bachelor's degree or higher - 14.9 percent have a baccalaureate degree, and 7.9 percent have an additional graduate or professional degree. Increasing the percentage of adults with at least a bachelor's degree to 30 percent would pay extraordinary dividends.

The General Assembly created a Higher Education Study Committee in 2007 to develop an evolving, multi-year plan for higher education. The committee, chaired by businessman Dan Ravenel of Charleston, recently delivered a detailed implementation plan, making specific recommendations for the attainment of four primary goals:

• Making South Carolina a more educated state.

• Increasing gross domestic output by research and innovation.
• Improving work force training.
• Maximizing the effectiveness of our investment in higher education.

Boiled down to its essence, the measurable goal is for 30 percent of adults to hold at least a bachelor's degree by the year 2030.

So how in the world would we turn this ship around? We can start by rising to the challenge and getting to work on the goals the action plan identifies. First, we must produce more high school and college graduates to make South Carolina among the most educated states by 2030. Second, we must increase research and innovation by fueling economic development with new knowledge. Third, we absolutely have no choice but to increase educational services and work force training by connecting academic programs to real-world business opportunities.

A tall order, I agree. But what's exciting is that the plan outlines specific, measurable ways to get us moving, from now through 2015. Here are just a few examples: First, we make high school attendance until the age of 18 mandatory for every student and promote more rigorous high school course work. Second, we create a system of pre-college certificates to make the transition to higher education easier for adults, as well as develop coordinated outreach programs that focus on adults who have no college degree. Third, we create monetary incentives to encourage earning a certificate or degree, and boldly ensure the affordability of higher education through increased state funding.

The plan calls for sensible changes, which will benefit not just the state as a whole, but everyday people right here in the Midlands. In addition to earning more money, folks will experience better job stability, enjoy better health and be better citizens.

The rest of the world seems to be getting it. If we subscribe to the belief that low-skilled, high-paying factory jobs are somehow magically going to return and that the states that are focusing on higher education are wrong, we're definitely missing the boat. If you read the bold-face writing on the wall, you know that, in economic terms, the world is flat. Our citizens now have to compete on knowledge. That means more and better education, period.

I am urging you to rise to the challenge and help us achieve the goals set forth in South Carolina's Action Plan for Higher Education. Together, we can transform our state into one of the most educated states in the country. By doing so, we'll have a far stronger economy, and South Carolinians will have a better quality of life than at any other point in our history. So join me, and together let's all reap the huge economic and social returns our investment will provide. To read the action plan, go to www.che.sc.gov/HigherEd_ActionPlan.htm.