Texas Must Improve College Participation and Credential Attainment Rates to Remain Competitive

• To remain globally competitive, the U.S. and each state should ensure that at least 60% of adults ages 25 to 64 have an associate or bachelor’s degree by 2025. In Texas, the current rate is 33.7%.
• Texas ranks 5^th among 50 states in the size of the credential increase it needs to achieve annually. To meet the 60% goal, it will need to produce an additional 3,267,944 degrees by 2025.
• By achieving rates of the top-performing states, Texas can produce about 1,016,000 bachelor’s degrees, 1,180,000 associate degrees and 790,000 certificates by 2025.

Meeting Top Performers Produces Significant Personal Economic Return

Per capita income increases when the state meets top performers

• Under current postsecondary investment patterns, annual personal per capita income in Texas is projected to increase by about $270 in 2025.
• By meeting top performers, annual per capita income would increase significantly more, by approximately $2,100 in 2025.

Meeting Top Performance Produces Significant Economic Returns to the State

Status quo produces small returns

Under current postsecondary investment patterns, Texas’
state revenues will increase by about $660 million in 2025.

Meeting top performance pays off

By meeting top performance, Texas will generate more annual revenue, topping approximately $5.5 billion in 2025.

State Revenues Exceed Costs When Top Performance Goal is Met

Status Quo: Costs exceed revenues

Under current postsecondary investment patterns, Texas’ postsecondary costs exceed state revenues by about $355
million by 2025.

Top performance: Revenues exceed costs

By meeting top performance, Texas’ revenues exceed
postsecondary costs by about $1 billion in
2025.

This analysis was prepared using the CLASP-NCHEMS Return on Investment Dashboard tool.  See clasp2022.tealmedia.dev/ROIdashboard