By Shawn Powell
How does a state with sparse population and a lack of industry diversity sustain and grow its economy? Finding the answer to that question is a significant challenge for the state of Wyoming. The Census Bureau identifies Wyoming as a “frontier state.” Our largest cities have approximate populations of 60,000 residents, many of whom work in the oil, coal and natural gas fields. These jobs generally offer high salaries while requiring minimal education. For example, an individual who hasn’t finished high school could make $100,000 a year in the oil field, however there is a definite downside to an economic dependency on natural resources – both for our workers and the state overall. We are essentially at the mercy of the market price for these commodities, tied to a perpetual cycle of boom and bust.
In an effort to diversify our economy and stabilize our services, Governor Mead created the ENDOW initiative in 2016. The initiative aims to attract more industries to Wyoming that would require a higher level of training and certification and create a workforce that can meet those needs. The legislature has set aside funding for ENDOW, partly to support a post-secondary credential attainment goal of 67 percent of adults (ages 25-67) by 2025 and 82 percent by 2040. With our current attainment rate for adults in that age range at 48 percent and our limited population, we will not be able to meet those goals by simply increasing the number of traditional students completing college. It’s imperative that we make it more attractive for adults and other non-traditional students with some credit and no degree to finish what they started.
For this reason, we are particularly impressed with CCA’s newest strategy, A Better Deal for Returning Adults. The different components of the strategy – accelerated course schedules, year-round enrollment, predictable schedules, credit for prior learning – along with additional supports for adult students would allow for some needed flexibility in how the colleges and university adopt it. This is particularly attractive in Wyoming as there is no central authority for the college system. Each of our seven colleges has a board of trustees that operates independently, as well as the University of Wyoming.
The Student Success Conference on May 31 hosted at Central Wyoming College brought representatives from all of our community colleges and the university together to learn more about Better Deal and Complete College America’s other Game Changer strategies. For some of the attendees, it was their first exposure to CCA. For others, the event was a refresher course on the organization and an opportunity to learn about this new strategy that we at Complete College Wyoming feel holds a lot of promise for Wyomingites.
Statewide adoption of A Better Deal for Returning Adults was high on the list of priorities at the Complete College Wyoming leadership team’s recent annual meeting with Governor Mead. As awareness of this strategy grows in Wyoming, we look forward to working with Complete College America to help more of our adult population gain degrees and credentials of value.
