2009 Public Agenda
Download a printable PDF version of the 2009 Public Agenda (PDF, 1.1m)
Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education: 2009 Public Agenda
Improving Our Future by Degrees
Finding consensus on important state issues is rare, yet virtually every major report or strategic planning document for the state ofOklahoma over the last several decades has 
identified educational excellence and economic development as two of the most pressing areas that need improvement. The 2009 Public Agenda for the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education is predicated on the understanding that no entity can help Oklahoma reach those goals more quickly and more comprehensively than higher education.
Higher Ed – Higher Impacts
An analysis recently conducted by Regional Economic Models Inc. indicates that for every $1 of state-appropriated funds spent on higher education in Oklahoma, an additional $5.15 is pumped into the state’s economy. Higher education indirectly and directly accounts for approximately 23 percent of the state’s economy.
The majority of our college graduates remain in the state, contributing significantly to the state’s economy and to opportunities for sustained growth. The latest State Regents’ Employment Outcomes Report shows that 92 percent of associate degree graduates and 89 percent of bachelor’s degree graduates who are Oklahoma residents remain in the state one year after graduation.
Key Objectives
For Oklahoma to achieve educational excellence and enhance economic development, the State Regents have adopted key objectives that will allow our state to increase its educated workforce, increase the number of college graduates and better compete globally.
- Strengthen financial support for Oklahoma college students.
- Improve student success and instructional quality.
- Increase access and quality of technologies to support agency programs and services.
- Enhance enrollment management capacity.
- Utilize performance funding to enhance student success and academic quality.
- Broaden economic development activities.
Strengthen financial support for Oklahoma college students
Despite the significant investment of public resources, financial barriers to higher learning persist for many academically qualified low-income students. The State Regents and the Legislature have developed several programs that enable Oklahoma students to have financial access to, and choice of, postsecondary educational opportunities.
Oklahoma’s Promise, a state scholarship program, is recognized by many as America’s best college access program and is considered a model that combines emphases on academic preparation and financial support for college. Since 2001, Oklahoma’s Promise has grown from just over 2,000 qualifying students to nearly 17,000 and continues to grow.
Cooperative alliances are partnerships between 29 technology centers and 18 higher education institutions across the state. Students are provided with tuition waivers, although a small academic service fee is charged to cover the costs of services delivered by the college or university. Since the first agreement was formed in fall 2005, the number of credits earned has increased from approximately 7,000 to more than 39,000.
Concurrent enrollment allows outstanding junior and senior high school students the opportunity to earn college credit while still in high school. High school seniors are also eligible for a tuition waiver of up to six credit hours per semester for their courses at Oklahoma public colleges and universities. Since its inception in fall 2005, the program has served more than 15,000 students who have earned more than 105,000 hours of college credit before graduating from high school.
