Curb exports of college grads

Exports are normally good for the state economy. But not when the exports are our college graduates.

That’s a growing problem in Kansas, as fewer people who graduate from in-state colleges or universities are choosing to remain in the state.

Why aren’t more staying? What can be done about it? Is Wichita State University a possible model?

Board of Regents President and CEO Blake Flanders discussed this problem at a regents workshop in Wichita earlier this month. He noted that in 2014, only 47 percent of the people who earned bachelor’s degrees five years earlier were still employed in Kansas. That’s down from 52 percent four years earlier, the Lawrence Journal-World reported.

The decline is consistent for graduates of a technical and community college and those who earn a bachelor’s degree at a regents university. But the brain drain is worse at the graduate-school level. Only 45 percent of people earning master’s degrees and only one-third of those earning doctoral degrees were employed in Kansas in their first year after graduating, the Journal-World reported.

It’s unclear what’s causing the problem. Are graduates leaving because higher education isn’t aligned with the state’s economy (the degrees don’t match the job openings)? Or is the state’s economy and culture not providing the jobs, salaries and quality of life graduates are seeking?

Part of the problem is simply supply and demand.

“There is a war for talent nationally,” Flanders said. “And so college graduates are in high demand, and they’re recruited by companies outside of this state.”

That means Kansas has to work harder to retain its talent.

Wichita has grappled with this challenge for some time. It wants to attract and retain more young adults, particularly creative college graduates. That’s why it has invested in quality-of-life issue such as downtown redevelopment and bike paths and is trying to make Wichita more supportive of young entrepreneurs.

Flanders also pointed to WSU’s efforts to connect students with Kansas employers while they’re still in college. He noted how private companies are moving to WSU’s Innovation Campus so they can utilize university researchers and employ students.

“Students are actually working while they’re going to college, and then they’re connected to a company before they ever graduate, which has really been shown to increase the number that stay and work for that company,” Flanders said.

But addressing this challenge extends beyond university campuses and needs to include businesses, the public and the state’s political climate.

Is Kansas welcoming to young adults? Does it value education, the arts and diversity? What messages are state and local governments sending?

The state’s economy needs to offer good jobs. But the state also needs to be a place where our college graduates want to live, not where they can’t wait to leave.

This story was originally published August 28, 2016 at 5:06 AM with the headline "Curb exports of college grads."