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The need to produce more college graduates has never been more urgent. Our local and national economic success depends on it.
As a result, the Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR) and our community colleges are implementing the largest and most tangible changes to our public higher education system ever in order to serve more students and help them complete a degree in less time and at a lower cost.
Currently, Arizona is not sending enough of our young adults on to college. Approximately 50 percent of 12th graders pursue no additional education after high school. Yet, many of the fastest-growing careers require associate's degrees, bachelor's or Ph.D.'s.
To improve our future quality of life and fill the jobs that are most needed in a knowledge-based economy, we must increase capacity in our higher education system while keeping it affordable and accessible.
The Getting AHEAD Project is a four-year initiative made possible by the Lumina Foundation for Education to implement new ways to complete a college degree. Getting AHEAD is:
- simplifying credit transfers between community colleges and universities
- promoting hybrid and satellite campuses in rural area
- improving online advising and college planning tools
- advancing modern higher education finance formulas that reward schools for degree completion, student success, and meeting local economic needs
- and educating the public about the new, lower-cost ways to complete a bachelor's degree
In addition, ABOR is transforming the university system to streamline operations, resulting in higher output levels and better positioning the system to serve a range of degree demands.
The new collaboration between our universities, community colleges, businesses, and local communities will provide more access to higher education, in more places, at lower costs. The new delivery model must recognize the other demands students have - the need to care for family, avoid relocation costs, or work while in school.
Until more Arizonans complete college degrees, our economy will continue to falter. We are pledging to create a system as efficient and productive as any in the United States that will lead to economic growth for our state. In return, we ask that the public hold us accountable and provide sustained investment in higher education.
This is a watershed moment for Arizona. The work to date has required a remarkable level of innovation by all partners. And at a time when the world is faced with forces that seek to obstruct reason, suppress discourse, and extinguish enlightened ideas, our commitment to education must be stronger than ever.
Fred DuVal is chair-elect of the Arizona Board of Regents. For more information on Getting AHEAD, contact Katie Paquet at katie.paquet@azregents.edu or (602) 229-2543. | 
