LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – The Nebraska Workforce and Education Reporting System (NSWERS) released a data summary Wednesday analyzing factors that influence graduate retention rates at state institutions of higher education.
Nebraska has been facing a “brain drain” — the migration of highly educated students to other states — since the 1970s, which can lead to an exodus of skilled workers and hurt economic growth and local businesses, NSWERS said.
Key findings from NSWERS suggest strategies to increase the retention of university graduates, particularly through promoting internship and work opportunities.
Key findings from the overview include:
- Social and economic ties play key role in graduate retention in Nebraska
- In-state students are twice as likely to stay and work in Nebraska as out-of-state students.
- Graduates who earn a wage while attending college in Nebraska are more likely to stay and work in the state after graduation than those who do not.
- The impact of degree fields on retention rates
- Nearly eight in 10 manufacturing students stay and work in Nebraska after graduation, compared with only five in 10 science, technology, engineering and mathematics graduates.
- Work experience has a significant impact on graduates’ decisions to stay in state
- Graduates who earn the equivalent of one or two summer internships in Nebraska are about 5 to 10 percentage points more likely to stay and work in the state than those who don’t earn an internship.
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