{Kentucky}...The Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education and many of the state's leaders, including Governor Steve Beshear and Senate President David Williams, appeared Wednesday at an event touting Kentucky's higher education progress during the past decade. The council released statistics saying that Kentucky was tops in the nation in the percentage of improvement in the number of adults ages 25 to 64 with college degrees, including associate and bachelor's degrees, from 2000 to 2009. The state also is first in improving the six-year graduation rates at four-year institutions. In the area of adults ages 25 to 64 with college degrees, the state ranks 45th in the nation, up from 47th in 2000. The state went from 44th to 35th in the category of six-year graduation rates at four-year institutions, which includes private and public schools. The three-year graduate rate at two-year institutions increased 42.7 percent, moving Kentucky to 16th from 38th nationwide.
