New data shows the Idaho Launch grant program increased the number of Idaho students who go on to college and encouraged more of them to stay in state.
The Idaho State Board of Education released a report Monday showing Idaho Launch changed students’ “college going behavior” in several ways. Using a mix of regional and national data, the report found Idaho Launch was responsible for a 5% increase in Idaho’s go-on rate in 2024 and an 11% increase in the share of Idaho students who remained in-state for postsecondary education.
While there was a decrease in the number of Idaho high school seniors who enrolled in out-of-state programs, the growth of in-state enrollment was higher than that decrease, according to the report compiled by Cathleen McHugh, chief research officer for the state board. That could be attributed to the launch requirement it be spent in-state.
Gov. Brad Little highlighted Idaho Launch in his State of the State address last week. He said the program remains one of his top priorities and helps reinforce “America’s competitive dominance over China.”
He highlighted the new data in a press release on Monday morning.
“Idaho LAUNCH is delivering exactly what we promised: more opportunity for Idaho students and a stronger workforce for our state,” Little said in the release. “LAUNCH supports President Trump’s Talent Strategy for America and is helping more young Idahoans stay in Idaho to learn, work, and build their futures here.”
The high school graduating class of 2024 was the first cohort eligible for the program, which means it’s still too early to tell if the grant has accomplished its top priority of getting more workers in high-demand careers. If those seniors who graduated in 2024 are pursuing a two-year associate degree, they will graduate this summer.
Idaho Launch provides $8,000 to cover up to 80% of tuition and fees at four-year colleges, community colleges, career and technical education or job training. The class of 2024 could pick from a list of 242 in-demand occupations eligible, but that list grew to 284 jobs for last year’s seniors and 340 jobs for the high school class of 2026.
The state board last year found postsecondary enrollment had increased for the class of 2024 and argued those increases were due to Idaho Launch. Monday’s report suggests the increase in enrollment is unique to Idaho and was not found in neighboring states.
The in-state college go-on rate for Idaho and its bordering states remained flat from 2020 to 2022, but the report found that between 2022 and 2024 Idaho “experienced an increase in the in-state college going rate that was 3.7 percentage points higher than the increase seen in Idaho’s bordering states.”
Methodology
To compile the report, McHugh used data from the U.S. Department of Education’s Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System and the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education.
The IPEDS data is only mandatory every two years so the next time that data will be gathered is 2026, McHugh wrote in an email to EdNews.
