Various leaders of United States' education sector met at the White House on Thursday to discuss solutions to increase people's chances of attending and graduating from college, according to the State Column.
The summit, which was named as the College Opportunity Day of Action, was organized in response to the need for American students to receive higher forms of education.
According to Cecilia Munoz, the director of the White House's Domestic Policy Council, more and more companies are starting to prefer applicants with a college degree. In other words, a high school education is no longer sufficient for an individual to secure employment.
The director cited that in the coming years, around eight out of 10 job positions will require applicants to have post-high school training or education.
In addition, about 15 of the country's most in-demand careers require a college degree. Munoz noted that studies indicate that those who were able to graduate from college earn higher than those who didn't.
"A college degree or credential is a necessity rather than a luxury," she said during the gathering. "The bottom line is that a college degree remains one of the surest pathways into the middle class in the United States and an especially powerful engine of social and economic mobility."
As a solution to the issue, government officials and members of the education sector proposed ways on how to increase the nation's number of college graduates, CS Monitor reported.
President Freeman Hrabowski of Baltimore County's University of Maryland suggested using technological devices inside the classroom to keep track of the students' learning progress. Other proposals discussed include linking high schools to colleges through transition programs for students and providing adequate training to school counselors.
The White House also said that it aims to boost the number of college graduates with degrees in mathematics, engineering, science and technology.
The government is planning to launch the program that aims to increase college graduation rate within the next decade.
