Report says America lags in turning out college grads

Young Americans trail their counterparts from other nations when it comes to college enrollment and completion rates, according to a national report card on higher education released today.

Belgium, Japan, Sweden and Korea are among countries beating the United States on both fronts.

The biennial report, Measuring Up 2006, is the fourth by the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, which usually compares states' track records in higher education.

For the first time, however, the nonprofit, nonpartisan, San Jose, Calif.-based organization has compared how well America is doing at turning out college graduates, compared with other countries.

The findings suggest that if the United States continues to lag in turning out college graduates, the pool of workers to replace retiring baby boomers is likely to be composed primarily of young adults without a college education.

"That means that in the future, important goods and services that need a very skilled and intelligent work force will not be able to be produced in the U.S., and we would have to go out and hire young people in other countries," said Martha Ozawa, a distinguished professor of social policy at Washington University in St. Louis....

•	Report says America lags in turning out college grads Findings show deficit compared with other nations Kansas City Star, Thursday, Sept. 7, 2006 Byline: Mara Rose Williams, The Kansas City Star