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State of the State Survey Winter 2014 A Check-in: Looking at the College-Going Culture of

Michigan Adults The Michigan College Access Network (MCAN) has maintained a contract with the Institute for Public Policy and Social Research (IPPSR) at Michigan State University to annually measure the college-going culture of adults in the state of Michigan through the State of the State Survey (SOSS). The SOSS is a comprehensive survey administered quarterly to measure citizen opinion on critical issues. The SOSS allows for regular systematic monitoring of the public culture on a variety of topics. In winter 2014, MCAN contracted with IPPSR to continue measuring the college-going culture of adults in the state of Michigan. 2012 was the first time these questions were asked and MCAN intends to continue asking the questions on an annual basis. The SOSS survey data is collected through phone interviews to both landline and cellular phones. Between December 2013 and February 2014, 1,008 individuals were surveyed. This quick report focuses on the data from the college-going culture questions sponsored by the Michigan College Access Network. The statewide data has been weighted to provide a representative sampling (both geographically and demographically) of the state of Michigan. The regional data reported has not been weighted. Overall, for the second year the data findings are positive. More than 96% of adults feel a college education is “somewhat important” or “very important” for a young person in Michigan to be successful in the labor market and their career. Also, aspirations are high among those with children under 18. Of those surveyed, 93% believe it is “somewhat likely” or “very likely” their child will get a college education. In addition to this brief, MCAN monitors how Michigan is moving the needle on college access and success indicators and shares the data publicly through a Dashboard Community Report available at www.micollegeaccess.org/our-network/dashboard.

For more information about the State of the State

Survey, see www.ippsr.msu.edu/SOSS/. The full SOSS presentation can be seen at

www.ippsr.msu.edu. MSU’s State of the State Survey has been conducted by the

Institute for Public Policy and Social Research since 1994, and is a project of IPPSR’s

Office for Survey Research. IPPSR is a unit of MSU’s College of Social Science.

As the leader in the state’s college access movement, the

Michigan College Access Network’s mission is to increase college readiness,

participation and completion rates in Michigan, particularly among low-income

students, first-generation college going students, and students of color. For more

information, visit www.micollegeaccess.org.

Questions Asked:

For the purposes of the college-going culture survey questions, a college education was defined to the survey respondent as: earning a degree or certificate from an accredited educational institution beyond high school, such as a technical school, community college, or university.

Question 1: For a young person in Michigan to be successful in the labor market and in their career, how important is it to have a college education?

Question 2: How likely is it that your child will get a college education?

Question 3: At today's levels of tuition and financial aid, a college education is reasonably affordable for people in Michigan.

Adults (18 years of age and older)

Surveyed: N=1,008

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Why should we measure the college-going culture in our state?

Although questions one and two demonstrate adults believe a college education is important and aspire for their

children to go to college, we know that aspirations and the reality of college completion data show a large gap. Michigan

has persistently lagged behind the national average in college attainment. Currently,

36.8% of the state’s 5.2 million working-age adults (25-64 years old) hold at least a two-

year degree. The national average is 38.3% (U.S. Census Bureau, American Community

Survey 2011).

Why is it critical for Michigan residents earn more degrees? It is predicted that 62% of

Michigan jobs will require a college credential by 2018 (Carnevale, Smith, Strohl, 2010).

Statewide Data

Similar to 2012, questions one and two revealed opinions have not waivered as it relates to the importance of a college

education and the likelihood their child will get a college education. The first chart Q1 demonstrates more than 96% of

adults feel it is “somewhat important” or “very important” to have a college education. While the second chart Q2

demonstrates 93% of adults believe it is “somewhat likely” or “very likely” their child will get a college education

69.7% 27.2%

2.8%

State of Michigan

0.0% 10.0% 20.0% 30.0% 40.0% 50.0% 60.0% 70.0% 80.0% 90.0% 100.0%

State of Michigan

Very Important 69.7%

Somewhat Important 27.2%

Neither Important or Unimportant 0.0%

Somewhat Unimportant 2.8%

Very Unimportant 0.2%

Don't Know 0.1%

Importance of a College Education

Q1: For a young person in Michigan to be successful in the labor market and

in their career, how important is it to have a college education?

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While questions one and two reveal a strong understanding of the importance of college education for Michigan,

question three reveals that affordability remains a problem. More than 67% of Michigan residents “somewhat disagree”

or “strongly disagree” that a college education is reasonably affordable for people in Michigan.

81.4% 12.0%

3.5%

2.0%

0.9%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

State Of Michigan

State Of Michigan

Very Likely 81.4%

Somewhat Likely 12.0%

Neither Likelky or Unlikely 0.0%

Somewhat Unlikely 3.5%

Very Unlikely 2.0%

Don't Know 0.9%

Likelihood Your Child Will Go to College

5.2% 22.5%

0.8%

34.1% 36.2%

1.1%0.2%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Stat

e o

f M

cih

igan

College Education is Reasonably Affordable

Strongly Agree

Somewhat Agree

Neither Agree nor Disagree

Somewhat Disagree

Strongly Disagree

Don't Know

Refused

Q2: How likely is it that your child will get a college education?

Q3: At today’s levels of tuition and financial aid, a college education is

reasonably affordable for people in Michigan.

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Regional Disaggregation

It is important to note the considerable consistency across different groups in Michigan, whether by sex, race, political

affiliation, age, or level of education, when asked the three college-going culture questions. The same is true when

segmenting the data by regions. Regional data disaggregation is represented on pages 4-6.

Importance of a College Education

Q1 Regional Disaggregation: For a young person in Michigan to be successful in the labor market and in their career,

how important is it to have a college education?

For the purposes of this survey, the geographic regions are defined as:

Detroit – City of Detroit East Central – Arenac, Bay, Clare, Clinton, Gladwin, Gratiot, Huron, Isabella, Midland, Saginaw, Sanilac, Shiawassee, Tuscola Lower Northern – Alcona, Alpena, Antrim, Benzie, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Crawford, Emmet, Grand Traverse, Iosco, Kalkaska, Leelanau, Missaukee, Montmorency, Ogemaw, Oscoda, Otsego, Presque Isle, Roscommon, Wexford

Southeast – Genesee, Lapeer, Lenawee, Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, St. Clair, Washtenaw, Wayne [excluding Detroit]

Southwest – Berrien, Branch, Calhoun, Cass, Eaton, Hillsdale, Ingham, Jackson, Kalamazoo, St. Joseph, Van Buren

Upper Peninsula – Alger, Baraga, Chippewa, Delta, Dickinson, Gogebic, Houghton, Iron, Keweenaw, Luce, Ontonagon, Mackinac, Marquette, Menominee, Schoolcraft

West Central – Allegan, Barry, Ionia, Kent, Lake, Manistee, Mason, Mecosta, Montcalm, Muskegon, Newaygo, Oceana, Osceola, Ottawa

79.7%

18.6%

1.7%

Detroit

57.1%

40.5%

2.4%

Upper Peninsula

68.1%

30.6%

1.4%

Lower Northern

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Likelihood Your Child Will Go To College

Q2 Regional Disaggregation: How likely is it that your child will get a college education?

*Northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula were combined due to a small sample size.

**Southeast Michigan and Detroit were combined due to a small sample size.

72%

26%

1.8% 0.3%Southeast

70.4%

22.4%

5.1% 1%1%

East Central

65.6%

28.8%

3.7%0.6% 1.2%

Southwest

62.2%

33.5%

3.8% 0.5%West Central

86.4%

13.6%

Lower Northern & Upper Peninsula

87.0%

7.8%

2.6% 1.7% 0.9%

Southeast including Detroit

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A College Education is Reasonably Affordable

Q3 Regional Disaggregation: At today's levels of tuition and financial aid, a college education is reasonably affordable

for people in Michigan.

61.9%

28.6%

4.8% 4.8%

East Central

70.7%

19.5%

2.4%

2.4% 2.4%2.4%

Southwest

70.5%

18.2%

6.8%2.3% 2.3%

West Central

8.5%

13.6%

3.4%

27.1%

42.4%

3.4% 1.7%

Detroit

5.1%

22.4%

1.0%

39.8%

30.6%

1.0%

East Central

4.2%

27.8%

34.7%

31.9%

1.4%

Lower Northern

5.5%

19.6%

39.3%

33.7%

1.8%

Southwest

4.4%

21.6%

0.5%33.4%

38.8%

1.0%0.3%

Southeast

4.3%

28.6%

33.5%

33.0%

West Central

4.8% 14.3%

38.1%

42.9%

Upper Peninsula