Education has played a pivotal role in Texas history. In fact, the Mexican government’s failure to provide funds for this purpose in the early 19th century was a major facet of the platform Texans proffered in their desire for independence in 1836.
Soon after the Republic was constituted, public education programs for children began to be developed, and by 1840, the first institution of higher education had been established.
The value of education has never diminished, and today, with the requirements for a highly skilled workforce, its need and significance are more important than ever before. Those who complete high school and continue their formal training are more likely to obtain higher paying jobs, and many positions are only open to those who successfully complete specific higher education programs.
This fact is not lost on today’s youth, and our state’s institutions of higher education continue to experience increases in enrollment even as the cost of education similarly escalates.
Preliminary data for Texas shows that the number of students taking college courses this semester exceeds last fall’s enrollment by more than 27,200. The 1.21 million currently in colleges and universities, both public and private, is about 2.3% more than in the fall of 2005.
Approximately 80% of aggregate enrollment growth this fall is in two-year schools. Public community/state/technical colleges and independent junior colleges added 19,793 students. These institutions now provide more than 48% of the higher education opportunities throughout Texas.
Among the public colleges, enrollment ranges from 49,738 (University of Texas at Austin) to 968 (Sul Ross State University Rio Grande College). Student body size in independent institutions varies from 14,040 (Baylor University) to 44 (College of St. Thomas More).
Some 678 individuals have started taking courses in the various medical, dental, and health-related entities available across the state to raise enrollment to 16,228 in public institutions and 2,769 in private schools.
Numerous studies completed through the years invariably note the positive impact of higher education on both the state and local economies. General revenue and local property taxes provide the public higher education system approximately $6 billion annually. The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts estimates that for every $1 spent by the State to educate our youth beyond the high school level, returns to the Texas economy about $5.50. However, even this large return only tells part of the story.
The spending and re-spending of salaries, as well as the monies made available by students, endowments, grants, research, and health care provide about one-third of the more than $33.2 billion the state economy receives each year through higher education. The remainder is generated by the greater earnings and productivity of graduates. In addition to these positive effects, the state also benefits from the far lesser likelihood that persons with college degrees or other certifications will ever require expensive social services provided by the State (such as Medicaid or food assistance programs).
Higher education is also proving advantageous to individuals as the National Association of Colleges and Employers has recently reported that businesses are expecting to hire 17.4% more college grads in 2007 than in 2006. Entry-level salaries are also increasing in many fields, particularly in the five best “money-making” majors—chemical engineering, electrical engineering, computer engineering, mechanical engineering, and computer science.
Traditionally, liberal arts graduates enter the workforce at a lower pay scale than those with technical degrees. However, the opportunities are expanding for individuals with diplomas in subjects such as English, history, and psychology, and most graduates with critical thinking skills, regardless of the major, are often the best candidates to eventually move into management positions.
Even though higher education enrollment continues to increase, this year’s hike, while about twice the gain from 2004 to 2005, is less than the growth rate the state experienced annually during the 2001 to 2004 years. Greater numbers of students will need to enroll in the more than 140 higher education opportunities in the future if we are to reach the Lone Star State’s Closing the Gaps by 2015 higher education annual participation goal of 1.6 million students.
It’s a most worthy objective and will invariably prove beneficial to Texans and the Texas economy.