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Brain drain saps Ohio

Most of state’s college grads say they plan to go where the jobs are, survey finds.

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By William Hershey, Staff Writer 8:46 PM Monday, June 15, 2009

COLUMBUS — Well-educated young people may be the key to Ohio’s economic future, but unless things change they’ll continue to flee the state.

That’s the conclusion of a survey, released Monday, June 15, by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, which is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and has an Ohio office in Dayton.

The study, based on online interviews with 811 students at seven Ohio colleges — including Miami University — is titled “Losing Ohio’s Future: Why college graduates flee the Buckeye State and what might be done about it.”

Key findings include:

• 88 percent of native Ohioans say they are proud of Ohio, but 51 percent plan to leave after graduation.

• 89 percent say good jobs will be very important in deciding where to live after graduation, but just 11 percent say Ohio has excellent prospects.

• 60 percent like the idea of a state cash grant for a down payment on a home as an incentive to stay in Ohio.

• More than half — 59 percent — are interested in local business internships.

Release of the survey comes as Gov. Ted Strickland and legislators try to fill a $3.2 billion shortfall in the new state budget without cutting support for education. The Senate version of the state budget already cut out a $94 million internship program aimed at keeping bright college students in Ohio.

“The survey shows that the young people are interested in things like co-ops and internships,” said Terry Ryan, Fordham Institute vice president for Ohio programs and policy. “They want to understand how what they’re learning in schools ties into real work.”

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