Currently, Ohio is behind almost every other state in the level of state support we provide to students who can't afford higher education, ranking 40th.

While most of us don't make an immediate connection between helping more Ohioans attend college and improving our state's economy, this connection has the potential to determine our state's future economy, and ultimately, quality of life for all Ohioans. The numbers tell the story:

• Only a little more than 2 in 10 adults in our state are college educated; this is nearly five percent below the national average.
  
• If Ohio's college graduation rate rose even that tiny five percent, approximately 497,430 families in Ohio would raise their incomes by an average of $43,764 dollars a year (based on the 2000 census).

The total impact to Ohio? Over $21.77 billion in taxable revenue.

We literally cannot afford to see the connection between helping all Ohioans afford college and our state's economy. Nor, would we want to, when there's such hope for change through policy improvement. Find out how KnowledgeWorks Foundation is supporting policy recommendations from The Governor's Commission on Higher Education and the Economy in Our Work.