A U.S. Chamber of Commerce report rates Kentucky’s higher education system below the national average in cost versus benefit.The Institute for a Competitive Workforce put out its Leaders & Leggards report showing Kentucky’s four-year institutions cost more than the national median, but they have a lower graduation rate than other schools.“Kentucky’s graduation rate is about 8 or 9 percent less than the national median and that syncs up pretty well with the ratio with how far behind Kentucky is to the national median to the cost for completion," said Domenic Giandomenico with the Institute for a Competitive Workforce. Kentucky's cost for completion at its four-year schools is averaged at $71,675. while the national median is $68,104. However the completion rate is 46.2 percent, while the national median is 54.5.Kentucky’s two-year institutions cost significantly less and have a higher graduation rate than other two-year institutions."It shows that this was something of a point of emphasis in terms of what the state’s plan was in terms of what kind of degrees they were going to turn out," said Giandomenico.The cost for completion at Kentucky’s two-year colleges averages $38,141, according to the report, while its completion rate is 23.5 percent. The national median includes an average cost for completion of $57,210 and a completion rate of 20.5average. Giandomenico said while Kentucky's rate is higher than the national average it still demonstrates concern.
