Texas public universities achieved a 60.9 percent student graduation rate in 2017, according to a Feb. 28 news release from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.

This rate applies to students across the state who graduated in six years or fewer and represents a 1.6 percent increase since 2015 when state officials launched the 60x30TX strategic plan for higher education.

The aim of the 60x30TX plan is to ensure that at least 60 percent of Texans ages 25 to 34 have a certificate or degree, with additional targets for Hispanic, African-American, male and economically disadvantaged students.

"At nearly 61 percent, our six-year graduation rate for public universities is the highest ever," Higher Education Commissioner Raymund Paredes said. "There are now 16 public universities with a six-year graduation rate above 50 percent versus only seven in 2000."

Of those 16 universities, only one is located in Austin. The University of Texas recorded a six-year graduation rate of 86 percent in 2017, an increase of over 4 percent from the previous year.

Only two public universities had higher graduation rates: University of Houston-Clear Lake at 100 percent and Texas A&M University at 86.8 percent.

The 60x30TX strategic plan also works to align state funding to better support at-risk students and the universities that enroll them.

One goal, according to Paredes, is to provide twice as much funding for at-risk students compared to students who are not at-risk.

"Texas has a youthful population, which is a huge economic advantage for our state, but only if we educate our young people who are mostly poor and largely Latino," Paredes said.

By 2025, it is likely that 65 percent of all jobs in the U.S. will require at least a bachelor's degree, according to a 2016 report published by Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce.

"The rate of improvement in the college graduation rate moves us forward in meeting the 60x30TX goals and preparing our young people to meet anticipated workforce needs," Paredes said.