Current generation may be first in U.S. history less educated than its predecessors

When considering legislation and policies meant to increase college graduation, Stan Jones, president of Complete College America suggests policymakers ask the following questions: "Will it reduce the time it takes to graduate? Will it help direct students in making an informed, transparent choice, clearly consistent with their aspirations? Will it provide more predictability and structure in order to ease their daily struggles to balance school and jobs?"

He said the reason why America has become a powerhouse in innovation and technology in the past is because of the access and the quality of higher education.

"With so much at stake, today's students need to finish their studies as soon as possible to get on with life," Jones wrote in article this month for the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges. "It is irrefutable that for most it is taking too long to graduate and for too many graduation day will never come. More of the same will not produce different results. Leadership by the trustees of American higher education is needed now more than ever."

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