Reaching Missouri’s Big Goal for Higher Education: Lessons from High School Graduates’ College Access and Success

Key Points:

Over the past decade, Missouri has been working to reach its “Big Goal” to have 60% of its working-age adults attain a postsecondary certificate or degree by 2025. This brief describes Missouri’s approach to reaching its Big Goal for higher education. We find: 

• Missouri has not clearly articulated milestones for reaching the Big Goal.

• Immediate college enrollment has declined (7% from 2011 to 2019), especially in community colleges, shrinking the pool of young adults counting toward the 60% goal. 

• Only half of Missouri high school graduates who enrolled in college each year as first-time, full-time (FTFT) students did so at Missouri public IHEs, contributing to “brain drain” with likely implications for Missouri’s workforce.

• A significant proportion of FTFT students fail to persist past the first year or eventually obtain a credential within six years, adding to the ranks of adults with “some college, no degrees.”