The J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Foundation unveiled its program Monday for raising the state's dismal performance in college completion. Idaho ranks 43rd in the nation in the number of ninth-graders who go on to complete post-high school education.

Executive Director Jamie MacMillan said the foundation will make the money available to each of the colleges for scholarships to retain Idaho students in post-secondary schools and see that they complete their programs.

It is not yet known how many students would get scholarships or how much money individual students would receive. The scholarships would go only to Idaho residents. The money must be committed by January 2011.

A post-secondary education usually translates into higher paychecks. If Idaho doesn't improve college completion rates, the next generation could face difficulties in providing for their families, buying a home or paying for the education of their children, MacMillan said.

MacMillan said the foundation wants to track the number of students who go to college and complete their degrees through 2016. If schools make progress, the foundation would consider extending the scholarships, she said.

The foundation initiative brought immediate praise from college administrators and business leaders pushing for greater college participation. It comes just as Idaho's higher education institutions are facing a 6 percent holdback in state funding for this year, which could put pressure on schools to raise tuition and possibly make it more difficult for students to pay for their educations.

"Thanks to the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Foundation, Boise State University will be able to provide increased educational opportunities to students who could not otherwise afford to go to college," said Bob Kustra, Boise State University president.

Foundation officials asked the schools to focus on five groups of students:

- First-generation college students.

- Students who want to return to school to complete degrees.

- Transfer students going on to additional college after completing their core requirements.

- Non-traditional students a year or more out of high school who have never attended college.

- Students who excelled in high school and have completed four years of math and science.

"We are committed to raising awareness and, even more importantly, to converting that awareness into action," MacMillan said. "We need to better prepare and provide opportunities for Idaho's kids to go on - go on to high-quality jobs; go on to technical training; go on to post-secondary institutions."

The money comes on top of millions that Idaho colleges give out through scholarships each year. Boise State and Idaho State University, for example, each give out about $7 million annually. College of Idaho hands out about $10 million.

The foundation also pledged $6 million to the Idaho Education Network, a five-month-old organization aimed at increasing the type of classes schools can teach students via broadband Internet, offering instruction in subjects for which the schools may not have teachers. The foundation also will put up to $3 million into a campaign to encourage more students to attend post-secondary schools. Billboards telling students to "Go On" are already in place in Idaho.

The foundation's initiative closely parallels education reforms sought last week by the Education Alliance of Idaho, which called for increasing to 60 percent the number of high school students who enroll in a post-secondary program within a year of graduating from high school. The number now is less than half.

Foundation officials were part of the Alliance's two-year deliberation for seeking education reforms for Idaho, but did not share their specific plan for the initiative. Nonetheless, the foundation's work provides at least some sense of how many of the Alliance's recommendations may get a financial boost.

"I think it really furthers the initial set of the goals the Alliance recommended," said Skip Oppenheimer, chairman of the Idaho Business Coalition for Education Excellence, which helped form the Education Alliance.

CWI, which will receive the scholarship money, has only a fledgling scholarship fund because the school just opened. "This is a huge shot in the arm to serve the students out in this Nampa/ Canyon County area in particular," said Bert Glandon, CWI president. For TVCC, the $1 million in scholarships is the largest gift the school has ever received and the only gift targeted at the school's Caldwell Center, which has about 700 students.

Bill Roberts: 377-6408