“All In Alabama“ Initiative Launched

TheAlabama Commission on Higher Education has launched All in Alabama, an initiative to keep sought-after college graduates in the state, Business Alabama reports. The program has three components: Retain Alabama, targeting recent graduates; Recall Alabama, geared toward graduates who moved away and may want to return; and Reengage Alabama, which will focus on those who want to complete a degree. Retain Alabama began a social media push this fall. The program aims to develop a targeted outreach campaign, make it easier for students to find jobs here and improve perceptions about things important to students. Alabama keeps only 20% or so of out-of-state college students, and while roughly two-thirds of in-state students stay, Forbes still ranks the figure the third-worst in the country. In a recently released study, 44.3% of students say they are very likely to work in Alabama, with 23.1% likely to do so. In a previous Retain Alabama survey, approximately 75% of respondents said they were open to staying in Alabama. Studies have also shown that salaries are a major factor propelling recent graduates away from the state.