Number of College Bound
Students Rises

Education Department Gets Briefed
on National Education Statistics

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) in Washington D.C. recently reported a one million student increase over the past ten years in those attending post-secondary institutions. The NCES projects this trend to continue into the next decade as the large number of students now attending high school reach college age. The center's 2003 Condition of Education report also revealed that Pell Grant recipients, usually from low and middle income families, are completing their degrees at nearly the same rate as non-financially assisted students.

Education Department representatives Sarah Young and Sharlene Mentor attended the NCES' May 11 briefing in an effort to keep abreast of emerging trends within our nation’s schools. The briefing outlined information released from the statistical survey of 44 indicators related to primary, secondary, and post-secondary schooling in the United States.

Young believes the increased post-secondary attendance could have huge implications for the Teamsters’ membership base in coming years. “Education and training levels are key determinants of individuals’ success within their given industries,” Young said. “The Teamsters must consider the relationship of this growing number of college graduates, particularly from lower income brackets, to the future workforce and direction of our union.” Moreover, these trends reinforce the importance of locally and nationally sponsored scholarship funds, including the expanded James R. Hoffa Scholarship Fund. “Programs such as these are invaluable in assisting Teamster sons and daughters with their post-secondary goals,” she said.

The report also revealed the effect of ethnic diversity on education trends. The percentage of individuals age five to 24 who speak a language other than English has more than doubled in the past 20 years, up from 8 to 17 percent, and the percentage who speak English with difficulty is up from 3 to 6 percent. The report also found that high school dropout rates for Hispanics are the highest of any ethnic group, and unlike the dropout rates for both whites and African-Americans in the past 30 years, have not decreased.

College enrollment rates for African-Americans have increased faster than that of whites throughout the 90s, decreasing the gap between those groups, while college enrollment rates for Hispanics have not shown significant improvement. As individuals who do not have a college education typically work in blue collar occupations, an increasing number of the Teamsters membership base will most likely be Hispanic. “Such factors will contribute to increasing diversity within the Teamsters in the decades to come,” said Mentor, who co-manages a school-to-careers project union.

The report also revealed that 43 percent of postsecondary students are over the age of 24. One factor producing this large number is the trend toward continuing education via the workplace. Employers are more often assuming the cost of post-secondary educational expenses. Of the employed adults who participated in continuing education in 2001, 87 percent received financial support from their employer for work-related instruction. “If the Teamsters are to continue to persuade workers that it represents their interests, it may require a similar investment in our members’ future learning," Mentor said. "That means reaffirming our commitment to providing union-centered educational opportunities.”

“These trends underscore the importance of the Hoffa Administration’s significant investment in labor education and training," agreed Mary G. Hardiman, Teamsters Education Director. "Life-long learning is something the union can provide its members to position them effectively for the future.”

The Teamsters offers one of the most comprehensive labor education and training programs of any union. Education Department staff conduct more than 125 field programs a year. In addition, the Administration has sought and won significant grants to underwrite youth career development, health and safety training, transportation research, and other means of workforce investment and training.

“Teamsters look to the future,” Hardiman said. “Understanding the role of and trends in education is one way we remain responsive to the needs of our workers and their communities."

For more on this year’s Condition of Education report see http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/.

Back to Project in the News