The 55% Initiative – An Effort to Encourage More NH College Grads to Stay in NH

Summary and Overview of Survey Results -January 2008

Overview:

Click here to view white paper summarizing 2007 activities

New Hampshire is a great state in which to live. Yet, we face a looming crisis. The state’s population is the sixth oldest nationally and many baby boomers are close to retirement. Employers are having trouble finding skilled workers, and college graduates are leaving the state at too high a rate to meet employment needs.

The 55% Initiative sets a goal of convincing 55% of new graduates to "work, play, and stay" here, as compared to the roughly 50% who currently stay. Results from a comprehensive survey of more than 3,000 college seniors and recent alumni to help determine why students decide to stay or leave were announced in December 2007. The results will be used to develop a "tourism-like" marketing campaign aimed at our future college graduates, on heightening awareness of key attributes of the state and its employers, and on shifting perceptions about the state that may be outdated or incorrect. Additional next steps for this initiative include expanding meaningful internship opportunities, developing and marketing a "one-stop" online shop for NH employers and job seekers, and creating a state-wide working group to help advise and support these ongoing efforts.

The University System of New Hampshire (USNH) has been partnering with business, professional and community leaders, policy makers, and higher education to develop this new initiative. Those partners include the NH College and University Council (NHCUC) and the NH High Technology Council, the two organizations responsible for developing and coordinating the Forum on the Future and the December 12th event at which the survey results were released. The survey was funded by a generous grant from the NH Department of Resources and Economic Development.

Survey Results:

The University of New Hampshire Survey Center conducted a survey on behalf of USNH and NHCUC, through support received from the NH Department of Resources and Economic Development. The specific areas of interest are the attitudes and behaviors of NH college seniors and alumni. Supported by the presidents of our four-year colleges and universities, the online surveys were completed by 1,121 seniors and 2,011 more recent alumni between May and November of 2007. The complete results will be posted on the NHCUC and the USNH web sites (www.nhcuc.org and www.usnh.edu) after the results are released. Some highlights include the following:

Redefining the Goal - Through a careful review of the survey results and new data compiled in late 2007, it was determined that the clear target for this effort needs to be those earning four-year degrees who are much more likely to leave the state and that such a shift may already be occurring. New data revealed that while only 34% of those earning bachelor’s degrees currently remain after graduation, nearly 53% of overall degree holders are staying in NH. As a result, to reach the 55% mark, 323 individuals who are earning a four-year degree and plan to leave the state would need to remain each year. This new data makes the 55% goal more attainable and even beatable, and also provides key information on the target audience and what leads them to stay or go.

Senior Survey:

There is a target market for the 55% Initiative - survey results shows that a significant number of seniors (22%) are undecided in terms of their plans for staying or leaving NH upon graduation. The remainder is evenly split between those who probably or definitely want to stay or leave the state.

There is a strong link between the perception of the NH job market and the decision of a student to stay or leave – concern about availability of jobs and salaries are the top two reasons students leave. The desire of both in-state and out-of-state students to stay in NH is significantly influenced by their perception of the job opportunities in NH.

The overall view of NH by students is very favorable – both in-state and out-of-state students viewed factors such as quality of life, good place to raise a family, proximity to natural resources, and housing as very important reasons to stay in NH.

Those who plan to leave cited the importance of these factors impacting their decision – salary (45%), availability of jobs in field of study (43%), proximity to family & friends (35%), travel time to employment (34%), quality of life (26%), cost of living (19%), cost of housing (18%), a good place to raise a family (16%), proximity to natural resources (10%), lack of taxes (9%), and personal safety (6%).

Those who planned to stay cited the importance of these factors on their decision to stay – quality of life (94%), proximity to family & friends (86%), a good place to raise a family (81%), personal safety (81%), cost of living (79%), cost of housing (77%), availability of jobs in field of study (74%), travel time to employment (72%), salary (68%), lack of taxes (68%), and proximity to natural resources (60%).

Students from out of state are much less likely to stay – only 17% of out-of-state students plan on staying as compared to 57% of NH residents, and out-of-state students are less confident of the NH job market in their field of study. 

Internships do not play a major factor in retaining students in the state – of those students who had an internship, slightly more planned on leaving NH than staying.  However, in-state students who had a positive internship experience and plan to leave the state are more likely to consider moving back than those who had a negative experience.

While many plan to leave right away, many would consider moving back at a later date – 41% of all seniors do not plan on staying in NH, however, 42% of those who plan to leave say they will probably or definitely move back at some point in their life and only 17% say they will probably or definitely not come back.

Alumni Survey:

Of those graduates who left, many want to return – 67% of those surveyed do not currently live in NH now, but 43% of those said they would probably or definitely move back to NH and 36% said they would probably or definitely not move back (remainder were undecided).

As a matter of fact, some already have returned – of the total responding, 530 were NH residents when they graduated, but 667 now live in NH, representing a net in-migration of 138. 

Graduates expressed concern about the job market in NH in their fields – 41% of respondents believed there were few or no jobs in their field in NH, while 21% believed there were many or very many jobs in their field.  Of those who left, 34% cited jobs as the reason.  Out-of-state students had a more negative view of the NH job market.

College graduates also have a very favorable opinion of NH – both in-state and out-of-state students viewed factors such as quality of life, good place to raise a family, proximity to natural resources, and housing as very important factors for staying in NH.

Graduates found jobs quickly – Of those students looking to join the workforce, 33% had a job lined up before graduation and 79% had one within six months after graduation.  There was little variation between in-state or out-of-state students or those in different majors.  

The trend is positive in terms of those who plan to stay – of those who graduated in 2001 and responded to the survey, 27% planned to stay in NH and 52% planned to leave.  Of the respondents from the 2005 class, 36% planned to stay and 43% planned to leave (the remainder were undecided).

Log on to www.usnh.unh.edu/initiatives/55.shtml to learn more about the 55% Initiative or join a blog discussion. For more information, please contact Matt Cookson at 862-0904 or matt.cookson@usnh.edu