In 2018, the MLDS Center Research Branch completed a report on, Brain Drain in Maryland: Exploring Student Movement from High School to Postsecondary Education and the Workforce. That report concluded that students who attended college out-of-state were less likely to return to the Maryland workforce when compared to students who attended college in-state. Specifically, 80% of students who enrolled at Maryland colleges had post-college workforce records in Maryland, compared to 57% of students who enrolled outside Maryland. As stated in the report, the loss of students, especially high achieving students, is a concern for policy makers and the viability of the state’s workforce.
However, brain drain is only one half of the equation. Maryland also has the opportunity for brain gain: out-of-state students who attend a Maryland college or university and then remain in Maryland engaged in the State’s workforce. Each year, approximately 47,000 undergraduate students are enrolled in a Maryland public institution of higher education from outside the State of Maryland.1 The ability to retain these students after graduation could help compensate for brain drain through potential brain gain.
Out-of-State Graduate means an out-of-state student2 who attended and graduated3 from a Maryland public community college or a four-year college.4
Engaged in the Maryland Workforce means that a graduate has Unemployment Insurance wage data5 reported for him or her by an employer in the Maryland for all four quarters of the referenced year.
There are four sections to this report. The Introduction provides background information and defines important terms. The Analysis section examines data on the number of out-of-state graduates who remain in the Maryland workforce. The Discussion section considers the importance of the topic, next steps for research, a national perspective, and policy implications. Finally, the Notes provide links to sources, additional information, and important limitations of the data.