Less than half of Rockford grads enroll in college

ROCKFORD — Less than half of the students who graduated from Rockford schools in 2010 enrolled in college last fall.

The Rockford Register Star reports that just 49 percent signed up for a two-year or four-year college, compared with 70 percent nationally. Those figures are from the National Student Clearinghouse.

Officials with the Rockford school district began tracking college enrollment of high school graduates in the 2009-10 school year and are trying to determine what caused the disparity.

"Right now, we have a picture of one year," said Travis Woulfe, the district's executive director of accountability.

It is possible that students are deterred from continuing their education when they realize how expensive college can be, Woulfe said.

"If that's the primary concern, we can influence that greatly," he said.

The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that just 20.5 percent of adults 25 and older in Winnebago County had a bachelor's degree or better in 2009. That average is 29.8 percent in Illinois and 27.5 percent nationally.

Woulfe stressed the importance of education because students who earn bachelor's degrees will make more money in their lives and have a lower unemployment rate.

"More young people are realizing that it's important to not only have a high school diploma, but you need to go farther," said Ronnell Moore, a member of the Rockford School Board. "You need something on top of a high school diploma."