skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Wednesday, September 18, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Medical copays reduce health care access in MS prisons; Israel planted explosives in pagers sold to Hezbollah according to official sources; Serving looks with books: Libraries fight 'fast fashion' by lending clothes; Menhaden decline threatens Virginia's ecosystem, fisheries.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

JD Vance calls for toning down political rhetoric, while calls for his resignation grow because of his own comments. The Secret Service again faces intense criticism, and a right to IVF is again voted down in the US Senate.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

A USDA report shows a widening gap in rural versus urban health, a North Carolina county remains divided over a LGBTQ library display, and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz' policies are spotlighted after his elevation to the Democratic presidential ticket.

Maine's College Marks Good, but Degree Gap Persists

play audio
Play

Monday, April 2, 2012   

PORTLAND, Maine - Maine is near the national average in terms of citizens with college degrees, according to a new report which parallels another recent study that also showed some improving trends in the state's higher-education attainment.

The new report by the Lumina Foundation says 38.7 percent of Maine's adults have at least two-year college degrees, compared with a national average of 38.3. The Lumina study and one by the Maine-based Mitchell Institute point to the importance of reducing drop-outs from college and sending adult workers back to school to complete degree work.

Lisa Plimpton of the Mitchell Institute says students have to stick with their studies.

"Persistence in college, getting through and earning a degree, is just as much of an issue as access to college and enrolling in the first place."

Non-profit groups addressing the situation are zeroing in on the issues of affordability and academic preparation, and also working with business groups to encourage the creation of incentives to elevate the academic attainment of the state's work force.

The president and CEO of the Maine Community Foundation, Meredith Jones, says the Lumina Foundation's goal of raising the proportion of degree-holding Mainers to sixty percent is reasonable.

"We're a fairly homogeneous population. Too, we're not a huge state in terms of numbers. I mean, shame on us if we can't achieve these ambitious goals."

Jones's group helps fund a project by the Maine Development Foundation called the Maine Employers' Initiative, which tells busineses ...

"Take one more step that will encourage or provide whatever incentives necessary to get your incumbent work force, that might have some college, get them back into college."

Jones says Maine's economy will not go forward unless it produces individuals capable of taking the jobs of the future, and creating the jobs of the future.





get more stories like this via email

more stories
Including the $236 million in federal funding for wildland fire management recently announced for 2025, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has invested a total of $1 billion to the cause, according to the Department of the Interior. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

This month, the federal government announced funding for next year's wildfire management, totaling $236 million and experts hope threatened …


Social Issues

play sound

California is home to more than 181,000 people who are unhoused, with 75,000 in Los Angeles alone, so the Los Angeles Food Policy Council will host a …

Environment

play sound

Groups concerned about pollution and climate change are asking Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign a trio of bills dubbed the "make polluters pay" package…


Ohio is among 13 jurisdictions requiring Saturday and Sunday hours for early voting. (PX Media/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

This week, National Voter Registration Day was another timely reminder for Ohioans preparing for the 2024 general election. The latest reports from …

Health and Wellness

play sound

September is Self-Care Awareness Month and the American Heart Association in Missouri is urging caregivers to take some much-needed time for themselve…

Menhaden are forage fish species and filter feeders, each capable of filtering up to seven gallons of water per minute. (Photo of female Osprey with Menhaden/TRCP)

Environment

play sound

In Virginia's waters, the decline of a small but critically important fish is causing growing concern among conservation groups and fishermen alike…

Environment

play sound

By Claire Elise Thompson for Grist.Broadcast version by Kathryn Carley for New Hampshire News Connection reporting for the Grist-Public News Service C…

play sound

A new report shows minimum wage increases have had little effect on the number of jobs in Maryland and nationwide. While the rhetoric around …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021