NEWS

IHL report: Education, nursing grads stay, STEM leaves

Bracey Harris
The Clarion-Ledger
Mississippi students prepare to graduate.

Students from Mississippi’s public universities awarded degrees in education and the health care sector are the most likely to remain in the state five years after graduation while those who receive degrees in science, technology, engineering and math are more likely to leave within a year, a study authorized by the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning finds.

The Lifetracks report, which also provides employment and annual earnings figures of the state’s public university graduates from the class of 2007 to the class of 2013, was conducted by Mississippi State University’s National Planning and Analysis Research Center.

“The resulting data in this annual report will assist Mississippi’s public universities in preparing student-achievement documentation for ongoing regional accreditation, annual performance metrics, economic development outcomes and other related outcome measures,” the report states.

It also provides an idea of how many graduates remain residents in Mississippi. It's an important piece of data, given the ongoing conversation concerning the mass exodus of young professionals from the state, in what’s become known as the “brain drain.”

SEE ALSO: Bill sought to stop "brain drain in Mississippi"

The phenomenon was brought to the attention of lawmakers during an Aug. 23 legislative panel centered on higher education funding.

“I heard Texas loves our engineering graduates,” Senate Appropriations Chairman Eugene Clarke, R-Hollandale, said to IHL Commissioner Glenn Boyce.

Although the report does not break down out-of-state students remaining in state in terms of program of study, it does show for the class of 2013 overall (the most recent data available) only 17 percent of out-of-state students enrolled in the state’s universities remained in Mississippi the year after graduation. According to the findings, of the 481 engineering graduates who received a bachelor’s in 2013 of some form of engineering, only 173 (44 percent) remained in Mississippi one year after graduation.

For Clarke, who represents the Delta, the topic of outmigration is familiar.

SEE ALSO: Oxford leads state in population growth

“It’s one of those tough questions we have to ask. We have great engineering schools; those are bright people. What kind of jobs do they need to keep them here?”

The Bagley College of Engineering at Mississippi State, Clarke’s alma mater, has worked on opening that discussion.

Dean Jason Keith said he’s requested a more tailored Lifetracks report from NSPARC to better understand the opportunities available in state for students, along with the economic impact the school contributes to Mississippi.

Keith noted the IHL’s report did not encompass all undergraduate degrees awarded in the state in engineering. MSU, for example, has 11 undergraduate degrees in engineering spread out over of different departments, and colleges chose which 10 undergraduate/and or degree programs the IHL would track for the study.

The Bagley College graduates an estimated 500 students each academic year, about half of whom stay in the state, according to Keith.

“I think the fact that students get recruited (companies outside of Mississippi) shows how high quality our educational programs are,” he said, adding, “I would like to see opportunities increase for students to stay within the state.”

The college has worked with the Mississippi Development Authority and hosted an annual career fair that’s grown steadily to the point of having to be spread out over two days. With an average starting salary in Mississippi of $60,000, the school’s graduates who do stay, according to Keith, can end up returning taxpayer dollars in a 10-to-1 investment.

CAMPUS HAPPENINGS: Flag comes down at MUW, MSU

At 83 percent, graduates from the class of 2013 with a bachelor’s degree in nursing were the most likely of the degree programs analyzed to still be employed in Mississippi a year after graduation.

Ralph Didlake, associate vice chancellor of academic affairs for the University of Mississippi Medical Center, said the findings were expected, saying the school’s mission is provide well-trained properly credentialed health care professionals for the state.

“That’s the reason why we exist. We make no secret about it. We make sure our students understand our level of need in Mississippi … As Mississippians we have an obligation to go out and fill that need.”

Didlake did caution, however, that depending on how the data was gathered the number could be slightly inflated because of the structuring of certain nursing programs.

Following nursing, education majors from the class of 2013, at both the undergraduate and professional levels, were the most likely to remain employed in the state, after graduation at 80 percent and 77 percent, respectively.

Originally from Seattle, Lauren Zarandona, a math instructor at the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Sciences, bucks the trend of out-of-state students rarely staying in Mississippi.

Zarandona, a graduate of the class of 2003, Mississippi Teacher Corps — which requires graduates to commit to a minimum of two years of teaching in the state — didn’t originally plan on staying. She received her undergraduate degree from Rhodes College in Memphis and had planned to leave.

“It wasn’t long after the first nine weeks I knew I needed and wanted to stay longer,” she told The Clarion-Ledger. Since married, she and her husband decided to start a life in Hollandale.

Now at MSMS, Zarandona, who was recently honored with the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Teaching, is doing her part to encourage teachers to stay.

One of her side jobs is training educators in the summer, many of whom are surprised to learn she’s from out-of-state given her level of commitment.

She tells them there’s no better place than Mississippi to make an impact.

ANOTHER CONCERN: Catching up unprepared high school grades costs state money

Zarandona recalled how when she first came to the Delta, she was immediately recognized as someone who wasn’t from there.

When she told people she was in town to teach, it was common to be met with a variance of “oh you want to change the world.”

“Originally, I felt like I didn’t know what a good answer was,” Zarandona. It wasn’t until pastor reminded her that was her goal she felt more grounded.

“Realizing it was OK to make a positive impact was profound. The good I was capable of helping to make happen, by having a lesson prepared, being ready for the next challenge, that is what kept me here.”

Contact Bracey Harris at bharris2@gannett.com or 601-961-7248.