Losing its minds? Evaluating "brain drain" in Ohio.(state education statistics)

When data from the 2001 Baccalaureate and Beyond survey showed that 35 percent of the students receiving a college degree from Ohio institutions left the state, the figure was touted as cause for concern. Ohio was well below the national average, ranking 35th among states in retaining students educated by its colleges and universities. Media and state government officials alike lamented the "brain drain" that resulted in the loss of nearly 17,000 graduates from Ohio schools in 2001. The headlines across the state ranged from statements of perceived facts, such as "Cincinnati Suffers Brain Drain" (Cincinnati Post, November 5, 2003) and "Ohio Ranked 35th in College Grads" (Cincinnati Post, June 2, 2002), to the dramatic: "Losing Our Minds: Grads with Advanced Degrees are Flowing out of Ohio" (The Plain Dealer, February 23, 2003) and "Ohio Loses Young, Educated in Droves" (The Plain Dealer, November 4, 2003).

Ohio is not the only state concerned with "brain drain," the term used to describe the choice college graduates make to live outside the state in which their degree-granting college is located. The incentive for maintaining a large stock of graduates is fairly obvious: College graduates enjoy higher levels of income than those who do not have a college degree. A July 2002 report from the U.S. Census Bureau found that, on average, a person who graduates with a bachelor's degree will earn roughly $2.1 million during his or her working life, nearly double the income of an individual who has only a high school degree.

Many states, including Ohio, try to monitor their progress in developing a well-educated workforce by examining the percentage of state-educated college students who remain in the state after graduation. Currently, one of the most useful sources of information about graduates available is the Baccalaureate and Beyond survey, which is conducted by the U.S. Department of Education. The survey is a longitudinal study that follows students who obtained their bachelor's degree in either 1993 or 2000. Survey participants are interviewed the year they graduate and again one, four, and 10 years after graduation. Information available from the survey includes the degree earned, characteristics of the educational institution, use and repayment of financial aid, educational attainment beyond the bachelor's degree, status of employment, intensity and length of the undergraduate experience, and the student's reasons for attending undergraduate school.

The Baccalaureate and Beyond survey is useful, but relying on its retention rates to determine effective policies for maintaining a well-educated workforce may be unwise. Gross retention rates give an incomplete--and sometimes misleading--indication of a state's ability to keep a well-educated workforce. When Ohio's retention rates are considered on a net, rather than a gross basis, the state's experience does not seem all that different from other traditional midwestern industrial states. …

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