Graphs - Ohio Residents

The repeal two years ago of the Student Choice Grant, which supported Ohioans attending in-state independent colleges, eliminated a key incentive for students to stay in their home state for their education.

Each Ohio state senator represents at least 1,000 undergraduates attending Ohio's independent colleges, and for some the number is more than three times higher.

Ohio's independent colleges, while attractive to out-of-state students, provide education to Ohioans at all academic levels.

This drop is even higher - 13 percent - when measured against the peak of high school graduations in the state, which was just two years ago.

Every one of Ohio's 99 state representatives has more than 100 undergraduates at in-state independent colleges from her or his district, and many have 1,000 or more.

One in five adult Ohioans have invested time and money in a college education but have no degree to show for it.

Recent data is consistent with Ohio's longstanding conundrum: Its population is better educated that the nation's at the the high school level, but less well educated at the bachelor's degree level.

Although relatively stable, the share of freshman classes who are Ohio residents has fallen slightly since the high point in the fall of 2004, at both public and independent four-year campuses.

Recent graduates of Ohio independent colleges are likely still to be in Ohio; each class's share of those remaining here after graduation is not only higher than that of all alumni/alumnae, but is at least as high as the share of Ohio residents in each class at enrollment.

Actual graduations from Ohio public high schools have, so far, been somewhere between the various federal projections. This leaves some question whether the expected long-term rebound from the most recent projection will actually occur.

Ohio independent colleges and universities have been able to educate increasing numbers of students from their home state, thanks to state programs such as the Student Choice Grant. The future with much more limited funding is cloudy.

The supply for traditional-age college students will dry up even faster in Ohio than for the region as a whole (see Midwest regional chart by scrolling down at http://www.aicuo.edu/GraphArchives.html). By 2012, there will be one-ninth fewer graduates from the state's high schools than there are this year.

Independent College Share of Ohio Undergrads and Alumni

More than two thirds of the undergraduates at Ohio's independent colleges come from the Buckeye State - and more than two thirds of the graduates are still here three years after graduation.

Source: AICUO Annual Report Survey

Student Choice Grant Levels

Although the current state budget cut the Student Choice Grant for Ohio students at the state’s independent colleges by almost a third, the grant still removes more than $2,500 from a student’s loan debt after four years of study.