Glen Oaks students enjoy an average annual income increase of $130 for every credit completed. During their working career, the average Glen Oaks student realizes an income increase of $3.30 for every $1 invested in tuition, fees, books, and wages given up to attend.  Students enjoy an attractive 15% rate of return on their Glen Oaks educational investment, recovering all costs within nine years.

See more on EMSI’s impact studies here.

“Potential saviors of the economy.”

That comes from University Business, which has a lengthy look at community colleges in its latest edition. The article hits on renewed attention from lawmakers that has put two-year training providers in the spotlight.

The attention partly explains why full-time enrollment at community colleges nationwide has increased 24% in the last two years, according to the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC).

“Never in my life would I have expected community colleges to be called potential saviors of the economy,” says George Boggs, president of the American Association of Community Colleges. “When the downturn started and people were being laid off, community colleges sent teams into companies to talk to workers about their options,” he explains. The importance of community colleges progressed from there.

As the recession drags on and more people turn to higher ed as a way to weather the storm, community colleges are increasingly in demand. “I think we are going to drive this economy back to where it needs to be,” says Mary Spangler, president of Houston Community College.

The articles also tackles the funding and budget issues facing community colleges, as well as the importance of articulation agreements to ensure community college students can move on to get bachelor degrees — and beyond.

Articulation agreements are also needed because long-term economic recovery will require them. “As the economy recovers, the demand over the next several years for BA and higher degrees will be pretty robust,” says Tony Carnevale, director of the Center on Education and the Workforce at Georgetown University (D.C.). According to CEW projections, there will be around 13 million job openings for people with certificates or AA degrees and 17 million for holders of a BA and higher from 2008 to 2018.

“When employers start hiring again, it will be across the entire economy,” says Tony Pals, director of public information for the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities. He highlights information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showing that 2009 unemployment rates among people who hold BA and higher degrees are lower than those with associate degrees. Although, AA holders have faired better than those without any college education. “For the nation’s economic well being, we need to increase the number of workers who complete some form of postsecondary study,” Pals says.

Why have community colleges proven to be so valuable? Well, here’s just one example: Valencia Community College in Florida, an EMSI client, has partnered with a local high school to offer a program that lets students formally work toward a college degree at a full-fledged Valencia campus next door to their high school.

According to the Orlando Sentinel story, “An added bonus for students who shoot for an associate degree: “If kids stay on track, they can save thousands of dollars,” (Principal Rob) Anderson said.

It’s no secret that education correlates to income levels, but the statistics are so stark in North Central Ohio that they bear review. Our region is grossly undereducated when compared with Ohio, which itself is undereducated when compared with the nation. Census data show only 39% of our 25-and-over population has at least some college experience, compared to 51% for the state and 55% for the nation. This directly impacts our average income, which significantly trails the state and nation.

Yet decent paying jobs are still available in our region for those with postsecondary education, in part due to turnover from the aging workforce. The key is up-skilling our population to fill these positions, reaching out to both the youth and adult populations.

Educational Attainment and Income: Ashland, Richland, and Crawford Counties, Ohio

Not enough youth aspire to postsecondary education in our region. According to data from the Ohio Board of Regents, only 44% of regional graduating public high school seniors in 2007 enrolled in an Ohio college the following fall — the lowest enrollment level since 2002. In a survey of approximately 800 regional high school seniors last spring, while 80% agreed that postsecondary education was their best choice after high school, 57% responded they had not contacted any postsecondary institutions. Only half had taken the ACT college placement test, including many with high GPAs.

2010-11 Projections and Income by Ed Level — Ashland, Richland, and Crawford Counties

Our community is responding to this crisis through a regional P-16 council of business, education and philanthropic representatives with a primary goal to improve the flow of high school graduates into postsecondary education or training (http://sparcp16.org/). For the second straight year, it has obtained funding to provide pre-ACT assessments to every 8th and 10th grader in region. With coordinated follow-up by school officials, these assessments have challenged youth to carefully consider their postsecondary aspirations and rigor of their high school course planning while they still have time. Likewise, SPARC (Succeed and Prosper through Education in Ashland, Richland, and Crawford counties) has spawned an active mentoring program in Crawford County and now placed dedicated college access advisors within Ashland County high schools.

Likewise, area high schools and colleges have collaborated to expand early college learning options to high school youth. Despite the loss of start-up state/federal funding, these programs continue to grow and thrive through innovative cost-share and scholarship agreements. We encourage parents to press their children toward early college experience, as some student surveys have shown this early taste inspires them to continue beyond high school.

Yet we must continue to reach out to adults, and several community partnerships are expanding access, such as:

• Hourly Richland County Transit service to the Ohio State Mansfield/NC State campus.
• A life skills program for cash public assistance recipients in Richland County — of which more than 50 have now enrolled in postsecondary education given the exposure to the campus climate.
• A career counseling office at Ohio State/NC State advising dislocated workers. Established as a branch of the regional One-Stop, it offers an array of tools to help direct transitioning workers toward a new career path.
• Agreements with area adult career centers allowing students to transfer technical training toward a degree.
• A variety of on-campus or near-campus bachelor degree completion programs. NC State is especially excited about its growing transfer relationships with Ohio State Mansfield and Ashland University.

We finally encourage the adult community to contact a local college to career center to investigate the convenient, flexible learning options available to them – regardless of your past. It is never too late to start over!

For more information, Tom Prendergast may be reached at tprendergast@ncstatecollege.edu. More on Prendergast’s work and the economic difficulties facing North Central Ohio can be found in this case study.

By now politicians are well versed in anecdotal evidence on the importance of investing in education — from early development classes through college. But what about definitive numbers on the return on investment of higher education?

Over the past few years, we have seen that when colleges and universities are equipped with hard and objective data on their total economic contribution they can often stave off or reduce crippling funding losses. This case study from Wisconsin is just one example.

Consider this quote from Paul Gabriel, Executive Director of the Wisconsin Technical College District Boards Association:

The results of our statewide economic benefits study were instrumental in the unprecedented restoration of millions in state funding cuts already made by the legislature’s budget committee to our colleges. A vote to restore funding by the same committee that cut it just weeks before was simply unheard of.

EMSI has now conducted nearly 1,000 economic impact studies for various types of education institutions. The response has been positive, largely because the studies go beyond the traditional impact analysis by providing a qualitative assessment of how education improves the overall quality and earning potential of the regional workforce.

But that’s not all. EMSI’s studies highlight how colleges are accountable to the regions they serve and measure whether it makes economic sense for the students to attend the colleges, and/or if the returns to the taxpayers warrant continued funding at the same or different levels.

One of EMSI’s latest projects is an impact study for the University of Idaho, where leadership recently presented preliminary results to the state’s chief budget committee. EMSI’s analysis showed the University of Idaho contributes nearly $1 billion to the state’s economy every year, accounting for 1.9% of total economy.

According to Idaho President Duane Nellis, “Higher education is even more important to Idaho when the state is facing economic difficulties. … This is an impressive figure and it demonstrates the beneficial impact that we have on Idaho’s economy.”

Kent State University President Lester A. Lefton expressed a similar sentiment recently after EMSI showed his institution contributes $1.9 billion per year to Northeast Ohio. Said Lefton, “At a time when companies and organizations are asked to be more accountable and quantify their worth, this report documents the value of a Kent State education for not only our students, but also our alumni, the communities we serve and our regional economy.”

If you are interested in an economic impact study for your institution, please contact Rob Sentz at 208.883.3500.

• Insider Higher Ed notes the dramatic shift in state support for public higher education for 2009-10. Including stimulus dollars, state institutions saw a decrease in funding of 1.1% from the prior year. That comes after state support rose 24% from 2005-08. What’s more, it could take many years to recover because states’ revenues have fallen so sharply.
• The Community College Journal passes along a College Board report that shows community colleges remain the most affordable option for students — even though costs increased more than 7% in 2008-09.

Occupations targeted by the initiative include veterinary and pharmacy technicians, nursing aides, and skills craftsmen. As the article outlines, there are specific criteria the colleges are required to meet to earn awards:

Community colleges applying for the competitive grants will be required to provide a detailed description of the programs they plan to develop or expand, including:

• Outlining the specific actions they will take to expand the capacity of high-demand programs
• Detailing the market demand for the programs, both by students and employers
• Identifying partners from business and industry who can help design the programs
• Aligning the expansion of these programs with local economic-recovery efforts
• Showing that the expansion will create or add pathways to specific high-demand careers in the local market
• Drafting an implementation plan for the programs

EMSI’s labor market data and analysis tools — used by colleges across the country — can help with the bulk of these requirements. Specifically, our tools can help applicants determine labor market demand, align new or existing programs, and link the programs to specific priority careers, among other things.

Click here to read more on how EMSI can aid education institutions, and contact Rob Sentz for more information.

PHCC’s impacts were highlighted in a recent article in The Tribune-Democrat newspaper.

Penn Highlands President Walter Asonevich said the results, based on 2008-2009 numbers, show that the college plays a significant role in the local economy by the people it employs and is a good investment for students on multiple levels.

“We are enriching the lives of students and they are earning increased incomes,” Asonevich said. “Eighty percent of graduates stay here and are active in the local work force and are generating revenue back into the community.”

Results show that the annual income of Penn Highlands’ students increases by $142 per year for each credit completed.

See more on EMSI’s higher-ed impact reports here.

The piece highlights how traditional liberal arts degrees — like English — are being tailored to help students find jobs. “Even before they arrive on campus, students — and their parents — are increasingly focused on what comes after college. What’s the return on investment, especially as the cost of that investment keeps rising? How will that major translate into a job?”

Although many students are focusing on their careers earlier and earlier, the article cites an Association of American Colleges and Universities survey that showed an overwhelming majority of employers are concerned with jobseekers’ skills (critical thinking, oral/written communication, creativity/innovation, etc.) rather than simply the degrees they earn.

A telling quote comes from Katherine Brooks, director of the liberal arts career center at the University of Texas. “There’s this linear notion that what you major in equals your career. I’m sure it works for some majors. If you want to be an electrical engineer, that major looks pretty darn good. … The truth is students think too much about majors. But the major isn’t nearly as important as the toolbox of skills you come out with and the experiences you have.”

EMSI has tools to help educators and workforce professionals learn about the skills that are important in their regions. Read more here or contact Rob Sentz.

CAP is closely tied to the Obama administration (John Podesta was the co-chair of President Obama’s transition team) and was influential in defining and developing green job policy. These reports signal an upcoming focus from President Obama and other political leaders toward community colleges—this fleshes out the $12 billion community college initiative that the president spoke about in July—so they deserve some attention.

While the “Re-Imagining Community Colleges” report largely deals with broad issues, “Strong Students, Strong Workers” focuses on vocational and technical education, and ways that community colleges can further improve their performance in those areas. A key theme is ensuring that community college students are linked to classes with strong labor market demand and high earnings potential. As the authors put it:

In particular, community colleges are frequently disconnected from state and local workforce development systems, whose One-Stop Career Centers and personnel provide the employment services and training intended to help workers find jobs or improve their skills and earnings. Without better linkages across these two sets of institutions, students at community colleges do not necessarily take the classes and earn the credentials that will best serve them in the job market.

The authors propose a new approach to training and credentialing. They argue that community colleges need to be responsive to industry and student needs through “innovative, credit-based training programs.”

At EMSI we are always looking for ways to help people identify in-demand jobs that are growing in their regions. With that in mind, we’ve put a simple program review report together that can be adopted to any program at any college. The report lets you see how programs are linked to regional occupations and gives the relevant trends and projections for those occupations and the industries that staff them. Further, the report shows the regional businesses inside those industries so researchers and administrators know whom to contact to gauge industry needs.

Download a sample report: Program LMI Analysis

We think this type of report is a quick, straightforward way for colleges to determine how successful their training programs are in connecting students to good jobs. Check it out and email Rob Sentz or call 208.883.3500 for more information.

The DAA is the subject of a recent article in the Dayton Daily News. The piece goes into detail on the need for workers in these military-centered fields, and quotes EMSI data and projections:

The acquisition and supply chain management workforce is expected to grow by more than nine percent in the Dayton region and 11 percent across Ohio, according to fall 2008 projections from Economic Modeling Specialists, Inc.

“We believe that people who complete this training will have a strong advantage in the competition for these jobs,” said Heath MacAlpine, assistant director of the Montgomery County Department of Job and Family Services.

Read the full article here.