Ohio Report Links Higher Education and Economic Growth

A state commission appointed by Ohio Governor Bob Taft has released a report detailing nine recommendations to maximize higher education’s potential to fuel economic growth. In Building on Knowledge, Investing in People: Higher Education and the Future of Ohio’s Economy, the Commission on Higher Education and the Economy suggests that more Ohioans must receive post-secondary education and the state must make greater investments in college- and university-based research to create more jobs.

Contact: Kristin Conklin
Education Division by Liam Goldrick

http://www.nga.org/center/frontAndCenter/1,1188,C_FRONT_CENTER%5ED_6801,00.html

The Commission’s recommendations include:

* Increasing college and university enrollment by 30 percent over the next decade.

* Removing barriers that prevent students from moving between institutions of higher education and other providers of workforce development services.

* Establishing a private sector-led Ohio Business Alliance for Higher Education & the Economy to serve as a catalyst and advocate for an enhanced and more strategic role for the state’s higher education system in Ohio’s economic growth.

* Creating policy changes that help businesses and entrepreneurs turn university-based research into technology-driven jobs.

* Developing a "compact" between state government, higher education, and the business community that will help Ohio revitalize and enhance the competitiveness of university-based research and technology transfer and commercialization.

Related Links:

* Governor Taft’s Press Release http://www.governor.ohio.gov/releases/04-29-04%20CHEE%20Report.pdf

* Report from the Governor’s Commission on Higher Education & the Economy http://www.chee.ohio.gov/index.asp?p=0&text=0