Leaders & Laggards

A State-by-State Report Card on Public Postsecondary Education

Oklahoma

Student Access & Success

Oklahoma’s four-year institutions receive an average grade in this area, with a high ranking in credentials produced per 100 full-time equivalent undergraduates but much lower rankings on completion and retention rates. Oklahoma’s two-year institutions also receive an average grade, scoring in the top third in credentials produced per 100 full-time equivalent undergraduates and completion rate but the bottom third of all states in retention rate.

Efficiency & Cost-Effectiveness

Oklahoma receives a good grade in this area for four-year institutions, with a cost per completion ($57,201) that ranks in the top 10 nationally. Oklahoma’s two-year institutions, however, receive a low grade, with a cost per completion ($63,382) and state and local funding per completion ($46,322) in the bottom third of all states.

Meeting Labor Market Demand

The median wage of an Oklahoma bachelor’s degree holder is about $14,200 (or 49%) more than the median wage of a high school graduate; the overall unemployment rate for a bachelor’s degree holder is about 3 points lower. The median wage of an associate’s degree holder is about $7,800 (or 27%) more than the median wage of a high school graduate; the overall unemployment rate is less than 1 point lower.

Transparency & Accountability

Oklahoma gets an average (four-years) and below average (two-years) grade in this area. Oklahoma receives an average score for its consumer information and public accountability resources. The state requires all institutions to assess student learning outcomes, using both national and institution-specific measures. However, results are not made public. The Oklahoma State Regents also releases a bi-annual employment outcomes report showing employment rates and average salaries for system graduates.

Policy Environment

Oklahoma’s 2011 public agenda has goals for student outcomes, but the goals do not have hard targets. The state has a small outcomes-based funding bonus for institutions as part of its “Brain Gain” initiative. The state also publishes a course equivalency guide for individual course transfer.

Innovation

The Online College of Oklahoma allows students to search for online courses and degrees available from four-year institutions in the state, though students cannot search for individual classes at two-year institutions. Regarding new providers, Oklahoma is among the more open states in the country, featuring a straightforward approval process for cross-border institutions that earns the state a good grade.

Report Card

Compare with

Four-Year Institutions

OK Nat'l
Student Access & Success C
Percentage of Pell Grant Recipients 35.9 30.8
Retention Rate 71.4 77.9
Completion Rate 46.5 54.5
Completions per 100 FTE Students 20.9 19.7
Risk-Adjusted Completion Points (5-point Scale) 3
Complete College America *
Efficiency & Cost-Effectiveness B
Cost Per Completion $57,201 $68,140
State and Local Funding Per Completion $44,670 $41,198
State, Local, and Tuition Funding Per Completion $75,706 $76,932
Cost Per Completion and Public Funding Combined Measure (5-point scale) 4
Meeting Labor Market Demand C
BA vs. HS Wage Gap (Overall) $14,200 $17,881
BA vs. HS Wage Ratio (Overall) 149.3 156.0
BA vs. HS Wage Gap (25–34) $10,680 $12,703
BA vs. HS Wage Ratio (25–34) 142.2 149.9
BA vs. HS Unemployment Gap (Overall) 3.0 4.0
BA vs. HS Unemployment Ratio (Overall) 2.1 2.1
BA vs. HS Unemployment Gap (25–34) 6.8 7.1
BA vs. HS Unemployment Ratio (25–34) 3.9 2.9
Transparency & Accountability C
Transparency—Public Accountability (5-point Scale) 3
Transparency—Consumer Information (3-point Scale) 1
Does the State Report Labor Market Outcomes? true
Labor Market Outcomes (4-point Scale) 2
Does the State Report Student Learning Outcomes? true
Student Learning Outcomes (3-point Scale) 2

Two-Year Institutions

OK Nat'l
Student Access & Success C
Percentage of Pell Grant Recipients 45.0 46.9
Retention Rate 54.5 58.6
Completion Rate 26.6 20.5
Completions Per 100 FTE Undergraduates 18.5 16.8
Risk-Adjusted Completion Points (5-point Scale) 3
Efficiency & Cost-Effectiveness D
Cost Per Completion $63,382 $57,210
State and Local Funding Per Completion $46,322 $35,476
State, Local, and Tuition Funding Per Completion $57,244 $52,512
Cost Per Completion and Public Funding Combined MeasureCombined Measure (5-point Scale) 2
Meeting Labor Market Demand C
AA vs. HS Wage Gap (Overall) $7,791 $8,545
AA vs. HS Wage Ratio (Overall) 127.1 126.1
AA vs. HS Wage Gap (25–34) $5,880 $6,595
AA vs. HS Wage Ratio (25–34) 123.2 125.0
AA vs. HS Unemployment Gap (Overall) 0.8 2.7
AA vs. HS Unemployment Ratio (Overall) 1.2 1.5
AA vs. HS Unemployment Gap (25–34) 5.3 4.9
AA vs. HS Unemployment Ratio (25–34) 2.41 1.84
Transparency & Accountability D
Transparency—Public Accountability (5-point Scale) 2
Transparency—Consumer Information (3-point Scale) 0
Does the State Report Labor Market Outcomes? true
Labor Market Outcomes (4-point Scale) 2
Does the State Report Student Learning Outcomes? true
Student Learning Outcomes (3-point Scale) 2

State

OK Nat'l
Policy Environment C
State Goals (6-point Scale) 2
Does the State Have Outcomes-Based Funding? true
Four-Year Outcomes-Based Funding (3-point Scale) 1
Two-Years Outcomes-Based Funding (3-point Scale) 1
Does the State Have a Credit Transfer Policy? true
Credit Transfer Policy (5-point Scale) 4
Innovation: Openness to Providers B
Numerical Openness to New Providers Grade 80%
Regulatory Jurisdiction 60%
Financial Burden 100%
Approval Process Burden 80%
Innovation: Online Learning C
Numerical Online Learning Grade 50.0
Online Learning Score (7-point Scale) 3.5

State Facts at a Glance

  • Number of Public Four-Year Institutions 12
  • Number of Public Two-Year Institutions 33
  • Number of Students Served by Public Four-Year Institutions 73291
  • Number of Students Served by Public Two-Year Institutions 68788
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