The Montana University System is looking to turn every community into a college town and they’re starting in the Bitterroot.

That’s the message Montana Commissioner of Higher Education Sheila Stearns brought to the Hamilton Rotary Club in a meeting Monday afternoon. She announced that Ravalli County will play the role of a “pilot project” in a university system effort to cost effectively increase educational attainment and degree production in the state.

Stearns cited a 2008 study by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development showing that the highest performing countries in the global economy have populations with about 55 percent of citizens ages 25-34 possessing some sort of degree or high-quality credential.

The same study shows the U.S. at 39 percent, Montana at 35 percent and Ravalli County at 26.6 percent.

by Will Moss

Full Story: http://www.ravallirepublic.com/articles/2009/05/05/news/news07.txt