The non student loan crisis
The public conversation about higher education is filled with doom and gloom about recent college graduates––particularly those with four year degrees or more in non-STEM fields––because of supposedly crushing student loans combined with low salaries. Increasingly we are also being told that getting a four year degree in a non-STEM occupation is the road to […]
Another bottom ten ranking for Michigan
Education Week has just released its 2015 Quality Counts state report card. Overall Michigan ranks 32nd with a grade of C-. On K-12 education attainment Michigan ranks 42nd with a grade of D. Massachusetts is ranked first overall and in K-12 education. (For more on the differences between Michigan and Massachusetts see my previous post […]
New Michigan Future Schools report
Michigan Future Schools–-our Detroit high school initiative––has just released a report on improving college completion. Written by Patrick Cooney, our College Success Manager. Entitled “Increasing College Graduation Rates for Low-‐Income, Minority, and First-‐Gen Students: Lessons Learned from 4 Colleges That Are Doing the Work.” You can download a copy of the report here. College completion […]
A Michigan economy not working for many
Despite all the headlines and headline statistics that say that the Michigan economy is “back” the reality is that many Michiganders are worse off today than they were prior to the onset of the Great Recession. The table at the end of this post displays real median wages for all Michigan full time, year round […]
Employers solving labor shortages
Governor Snyder has made solving the so-called skilled trades shortages one of, if not, the top state economic growth priorities. He wants the education and training system to emphasize far more than today preparing students and adult job seekers for those jobs. A far more effective lever to solve labor shortages in any occupation or […]
New realities video
The core belief of Michigan Future is that because of globalization and technology, what made us prosperous in the past, won’t in the future. And that Michigan has gone from one of the most prosperous places on the planet for most of the 20th Century to one of the country’s poorest states today because we […]
Michigan targeting declining sectors
MiBiz asked Governor Snyder in a year end interview “Looking ahead to the next legislative session, what’s on your agenda to further improve the state’s business climate?” The Governor’s response: “Number one would be career tech education for the skilled trades. If you look at it, people know about (becoming a) welder, plumber and electrician. […]