A Citizen's Guide to Kentucky Education | Page 7

Postsecondary Education

Expanding the culture of improvement to postsecondary education prompted the Postsecondary Education Reform Act of 1997 . This legislation set a goal of raising Kentucky ’ s educational attainment to the national average by 2020 and was crafted around a theme of using higher education to drive improvements in the state ’ s economy and quality of life .
A key element of the 1997 reform was the creation of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System , building from the community college system formerly governed by the University of Kentucky .
Unlike with elementary and secondary education , there is no regular assessment of the performance of the state ’ s postsecondary system . However , there have been intermittent status reports . One was conducted in 2007 by the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce to mark the ten-year anniversary of the reforms . That review found that the goals of the 1997 reforms were still valid , but that barriers to progress included weak links between postsecondary education and state and regional economic development ; inadequate policy coordination , discipline and accountability ; threats to affordability ; and comparatively low productivity , or degree production ( reflecting the need for sustained public investment and more effective use of resources ).
The National Center for Higher Education Management Systems produced a more recent status report , in February 2015 ,
which found that Kentucky ’ s strong performance in improving educational attainment following the reforms had slowed in recent years .
For instance , Kentucky had the nation ’ s second-highest change between 2000 and 2009 in the percent of 25- to 44-year-olds with associate degrees and higher . That declined to 24th-highest between 2009 and 2013 . Similarly , Kentucky recorded the nation ’ s highest change between 2000 and 2009 in the number of undergraduate credentials awarded per 1,000 18- to 44-yearolds with no college degree . Between 2009 and 2013 , Kentucky ’ s performance had slipped to 32nd highest in the nation .
Education officials attributed the decline to reduced public funding for postsecondary institutions .
Public postsecondary institutions in Kentucky receive funds from a number of sources , as tracked by the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education . These include :
• state General Fund appropriations
• tuition and fees charged to students
• revenue from hospital and auxiliary operations
• agency funds ( which include local appropriations , grants and contracts , private gifts , investment income and sales of services )
• federal funds ( for research and other purposes )
A Citizen ’ s Guide to Kentucky Education — June 2016 6