BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Members of Alabama’s Student Retention Council recently told state lawmakers they are working to raise awareness of career opportunities and quality-of-life advantages in hopes of persuading more graduates to stay in Alabama.
The council, housed within the Alabama Higher Education Partnership, was launched in 2022 after research found many students were open to working in Alabama after college but far fewer were certain they would stay.
The council includes one student representative from each of Alabama’s 14 public universities, appointed by university leaders. Innovate Alabama expanded the council in 2024, adding six at-large members who fill needed organizational roles.
In last week’s presentations, student leaders told lawmakers the current council is focusing on four areas they said shape whether graduates remain in Alabama: outdoor recreation, civic engagement, events and entertainment and workforce pipelines tied to internships.
“All four of these come together, really to highlight the wonderful assets in the state of Alabama and all of the value that we have here,” Jacksonville State University student Jonathan Duncan told the House committee.
Council members said they are addressing those areas by talking with students and community leaders and by developing guides to help students learn more about what Alabama has to offer.
University of Alabama in Huntsville student Ayden McArthur told the Senate committee that internships can play a major role in where graduates choose to live.
“We found out that internships are a significant predictor of where they’re going to live in the future,” McArthur said.
He described efforts the council is making to help students identify in-state internships and help smaller employers better understand what students want from those opportunities.
University of West Alabama student Madison Booker told the House committee that the council has held more than 5,000 direct conversations with students on campuses over the last four years.
“We have presented to a wide range of our groups, including our Greek Life, student government, our computer science and engineering and business schools,” Booker said.
She said surveys conducted after those presentations showed that more than 8 in 10 students said they would consider looking for a job in Alabama after graduation.
In both committee presentations, members said students often learn new things about Alabama through the council’s outreach, including information about job opportunities, quality of life and the state’s low cost of living.
Gordon Stone, executive director of the Higher Education Partnership, told Alabama Daily News that council members were honored to visit lawmakers and share what they are doing “to help increase the awareness of potential employment opportunities in the state of Alabama among their peers and to help shape the thinking of our opinion leaders as it relates to policy that can further the amount of opportunities within our state.”
Senate Education Budget Chairman Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, told committee members he sees state funding for higher education as an investment.
“We’re making an investment in our students,” Orr said. “And if they are from Alabama, we want to keep them in Alabama. And if they’re from out of state, we want to encourage them to stay and keep them here in Alabama.”
The council grew out of the broader Retain Alabama effort, which began in 2020 after a report from the Alabama Commission on Higher Education showed only half of bachelor’s degree recipients were employed in the state five years after graduation.
That was followed by a 2021 survey conducted by ACHE that found only about one-third of students definitely planned to stay in Alabama after graduation, while more than four in 10 were undecided.
At the same time, nearly three-quarters said they were open to considering career opportunities in the state.
Students rated Alabama highly for its natural environment, outdoor activities and cost of living, while political and social environment, salaries, overall reputation and acceptance of diverse backgrounds scored much lower.
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