Several prominent Virginia businessmen, including two former University Board of Visitors members, have come together to work on a new initiative called Grow by Degrees, which hopes to make higher education more affordable and applicable in the workforce.
W. Heywood Fralin, former University Board of Visitors member and chairman of the Virginia Business Higher Education Council — the organization that launched Grow by Degrees — said the initiative’s goal was to increase the number of college graduates entering the job market in the commonwealth, an aim which he said would consequently improve Virginia’s budget situation.
“It’s the key to economic success of this state,” he said, noting that more graduates would provide significantly larger tax revenues, start more state businesses and fill demanding jobs, keeping established business in the Commonwealth.
Tom Farrell, a former member of both the State Council for Higher Education and the University’s Board of Visitors, as well as a current member of the Board at the University’s College at Wise, worked with Fralin to outline the goals of Grow by Degrees.
“Our [objective] is to try to convince public policy makers in the state that this should be one of their priorities in the legislature and the executive branch.” Farrell said. He also noted, however, that this change will likely be a gradual one.
“Grow by Degrees will have a very important impact for Virginians, but it will be in the long term … it could be over the next 10 or 20 years,” he said.
Mark Hubbard, Grow by Degrees communications director, said a recently completed poll found that 75 percent of Virginians thought a college degree was necessary for professional success. Hubbard noted, however, that only 35 percent of college-age Virginians are enrolled in college and only 42 percent of working-age Virginians actually hold college degrees.
“That’s a significant gap there between the number of people who feel that they need a degree to succeed and the number of people that get a degree,” Hubbard said. “We need to fix that.”
To shrink this gap, the number of college graduates would have to increase by 70,000 during the next 10 years so that half of all Virginians would hold a college degree, Hubbard said. Throughout the last decade, however, the state has decreased its funding per student by 40 percent, meaning that students and their families are shouldering more tuition than ever before or finding that they are unable to afford any college education at all, he said.
Though their specific plans for making higher education more accessible may differ, both candidates in Virginia’s upcoming gubernatorial election have expressed their support for the Grow By Degrees program.
Creigh Deeds spokesperson Mike Gehrke said his campaign worked closely with Grow by Degrees during the race for the Democratic nomination, adding that they plan to continue doing so if Deeds is elected governor.
“Higher education is a top priority and a crucial part of the economy as well,” Gehrke said.
Crystal Cameron, press secretary for Republican candidate Bob McDonnell, said although McDonnell agrees with the ideas set forth by Growth by Degrees, he has a slightly more ambitious goal of awarding 100,000 diplomas during the next 15 years.