Among the state’s public universities, Wichita State graduates are most likely to get a job and stay in Kansas.
According to a study from the Kansas Board of Regents, 73.6 percent of WSU graduates between 2007 and 2009 got a job in Kansas within a year of graduation.
Vanessa Lamoreaux with the Board of Regents said they took data submitted from Kansas universities and matched it with employment figures from the Kansas Department of Labor. The study used actual graduates to perform matches between the data sets.
Trailing Wichita State University was Emporia State University with 71.7 percent of graduates employed in state, Fort Hays State University at 66.6 percent, Pittsburg State University at 57.4 percent, Kansas State University at 54.2 percent and University of Kansas at 47.2 percent.
In a release, Director of WSU's Cooperative Education and Work-Based Learning Connie Dietz credits their focus on experiential learning and internships.
"Research conducted by our office indicates that over the past five years an average of 91 percent of graduates who completed a co-op or internship through our office are working in Kansas," said Dietz.
For years, Kansas and other Midwesternstates have been battling brain drain, and continue to struggle to find skilled workers to replace retiring baby-boomers.
This is the first time a study of this type has been carried out by the Kansas Board of Regents. Future data could better allow researchers to track the rates of Kansas college graduates who get jobs in the state.