STC Releases Study of Student Migration Patterns

College tuition rates and a state's success at retaining its high school graduates for college attendance — both of which can be affected by state policy makers and university administrators — are strong predictors of a state's success in keeping its own recent college science and engineering graduates and in attracting graduates from other states, according to a study from the Southern Technology Council (STC).

The report, entitled Where Have All the Students Gone? Interstate Migration of Recent Science and Engineering Graduates, focuses on the role of those graduates in state economic development and, in particular, what factors may predict their migration patterns and put certain states or regions at a disadvantage.

As competition for high-tech personnel becomes increasingly fierce, corporations and governments alike are looking for answers to a complex question: How do we stop the "brain drain?" Recent science and engineering graduates can make huge contributions to state and national economies, both in terms of human resources for existing high-tech businesses and often as entrepreneurs creating new businesses and new jobs in the economy.

Funded in part by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the study is a state level analysis of data from a national survey. The study is based on data from the National Survey of Recent College Graduates by NSF's Division of Science Resources Studies. The report indexes states in retention and net interstate migration of recent science and engineering graduates, then analyzes how geographic, economic, and policy variables factor into those indices. Some of the key findings are:

Lower tuition at public universities — both for in-state and out-of-state students — predicts that the state will have higher success in attracting science and engineering graduates from other states.

States that are successful at retaining their high school graduates for college in-state are also successful at keeping their college graduates for employment in state.

State economic indicators, such as higher wages and in particular higher wages in the technology sector, seem to be positively related to the state's ability to attract college graduates from other states.

The report recommends actions states and universities can take to increase their knowledge of this issue and their likelihood of keeping and attracting recent science and engineering graduates. The recommendations include:

States and/or universities should benchmark measures of retention and net migration on an ongoing basis.

States which are losing graduates should give serious consideration to lowering, or at least stabilizing, tuition levels at public universities. In addition, the expansion of financial assistance in key science and engineering disciplines might be considered.

States should accelerate their efforts to build high-wage technology based economies if they wish to retain their own best and brightest students and attract highly skilled people from elsewhere.

The report's executive summary is available at www.southern.org/migrate.htm. The full report can be ordered for $10 for a single copy or $7 each for multiple copies from the on-line site or by contacting Connie Hansen of the STC via telephone 919/941- 5145 or e-mail chansen@southern.org.