Successful efforts by The University of Akron to provide more degrees to more students are contributing to a multi-billion dollar economic impact to the northeast Ohio region—and national recognition to UA and the Akron area.
CEOs for Cities sponsored a national Talent Dividend competition, encouraging collaboration among universities and civic organizations to create programs that help students attain college degrees. Nearly 60 metropolitan areas competed for the Talent Dividend grand prize of $1 million -- funded by the Kresge and Lumina foundations -- for the metropolitan area that exhibited the greatest increase in the number of post-secondary degrees granted (per one thousand population).
UA and its partners in the Northeast Ohio Council on Higher Education (NOCHE) are among the finalists in the competition, and will be recognized at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday.
VIDEO: What is the 'Talent Dividend?'
According to Lee Fisher, president & CEO of CEOs for Cities, “We developed the Talent Dividend network and Prize competition because our research demonstrates that 64 percent of a region’s economic success, as measured by per capita income, can be attributed to the percentage of the population with a college degree. That’s as close as you’ll come to a secret sauce for city and regional success."
Watch announcement live
Watch the Talent Dividend announcement live at 1:45 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 29.
During the competition period—measuring degree attainment by students between 2009-10 and 2012-13—UA students earned 4,387 bachelor’s degrees (an increase of 15 percent) and 651 associate degrees (an increase of 73 percent). These increases contributed to an overall 10.3 percent increase in college-degree holders among all NOCHE partners during that period and a 20 percent increase in the Akron metropolitan area alone.
Related:
Talent Dividend third-year summary report for the Akron metropolitan area
How the institutions in the Akron metropolitan area contributed to degree increases
Strategic approach
How was such success achieved? Provost Mike Sherman cites a diversity of programs across the region designed to:
- improve college readiness;
- increase retention to degree completion; and
- increase degree attainment among adults with some college or no degree.
Examples include:
- gap and student success scholarships to help students who need small amounts of funding to finish their final semester;
- pathway programs to increase the likelihood of course completion and reduce student debt;
- dual-enrollment programs with community colleges;
- success coaching and enhanced advising programs;
- summer bridge; and
- STEMM scholars programs to encourage first generation college students and others.
“Together with Kent State, Hiram College, Stark State and NEOMED—our academic partners in the Akron metropolitan area—we have demonstrated that our students’ success is our region’s success,” says Dr. Sherman. “Whether or not we bring home the $1 million prize to northeast Ohio, we can celebrate a collaboration that has boosted the number of people living in our community with advanced degrees, contributing to a more innovative, productive, and stronger regional economy.”
One student's story
UA graduate Treviel Cody is a good example of the Talent Divided: He launched a new theater company in Akron, thanks to one of the student success programs that enabled him to achieve his degree in 2012. He spent nearly seven years, working part-time and diligently completing his coursework.
“I was so close to graduating but running out of financial aid,” says Cody. That’s when he learned about special small scholarships provided by UA to help students clear debt and finish their classes.
“I am grateful to the Theatre Department, Professor Neil Sapienza, and the entire Adult Focus program for helping me,” says Cody. “The biggest lesson for any university student to learn is to prepare yourself for the grind ahead—an entrepreneurial path is going to be fun, but hard.”
Cody and thousands of other UA students will be celebrated on Wednesday when their achievements—and the region’s success—will be noted. There is a Talent Dividend Prize Watch Party at the Greater Akron Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday afternoon, where the region will learn just how big that recognition will be.
Media contact: Eileen Korey, 330-972-8589 or korey@uakron.edu
SUCCESS STORY: Lydia Ducksworth
Ducksworth
The gap scholarship of $885 that Lydia Ducksworth received during her last semester at UA made that last semester possible.
“It was definitely a blessing,” says the Akron resident, who earned a B.S. in Respiratory Therapy Technology in May 2014. “With two small children, I had financial responsibilities outside of funding my education. I would not have been able to finish school without it.”
Ducksworth also was a Choose Ohio First STEM Scholar. The program provides scholarships and services to encourage more students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
She’s now a respiratory therapist at Summa Akron City Hospital. “I love my job,” says Ducksworth. “I get a lot of satisfaction from helping people, and from the positive feedback I get from co-workers, patients and their families.”
SUCCESS STORY: Treviel Cody
Treviel Cody was close to graduating when his financial aid ran out. UA provided a gap scholarship, allowing him to continue. He earned his degree, and today he owns a theater company in Akron. Gap scholarships are one approach taken by Akron-area colleges and universities to increase degree attainment.