A recent study by EMSI has shown Baltimore City Community College to have a total net impact of more than $540 million on its service area. The study was completed in January and released by the college on April 15th.

Highlights from the study showed:

• BCCC pumps $45.5 million in labor and non-labor income into the economy from operations and capital spending;
• BCCC students contribute $24.9 million in taxable income to the Maryland economy annually;
• For every dollar students spend on courses at BCCC, they will earn $4.40 in future earnings;
• BCCC saves Maryland $2.1 million each year through improved health and reduced welfare, unemployment and crime; and,
• Associate degree graduates from Baltimore City Community College who work in the region can earn $50,400 per year, 40 percent more than an individual with a high school diploma or GED.

Read the article here (Baltimore Business Journal).

EMSI is the international leader in impact studies for community and technical colleges, with over 800 studies completed for more than 500 colleges in the U.S., Canada, and the United Kingdom since 2001. Unlike many simple impact models which have been rightly criticized for inflating benefits and ignoring costs, EMSI uses a sophisticated proprietary model that requires detailed data and calculates the college’s true net impact of a college, along with a student and taxpayer investment analysis.

An EMSI gap analysis report is being used to inform a new Master Plan for Northwest Arkansas Community College in Bentonville, Arkansas. NWACC has reviewed input from multiple sources, including the EMSI report, and the consensus appears to be that the college needs to create a permanent presence in a neighboring county as well as establish a university center.

The task force got its first official look at all the compiled data, as well as information from the 2006 gap analysis, which was conducted by Economic Modeling Specialists Inc. A gap analysis looks at a community and determines what needs are being met and what needs remain unfulfilled. This is accomplished using public data and demographics, NWACC consultant Patti Mocivnik explained.

Susan Holmes, co-facilitator for the task force, said the results make the priorities quite clear. Certain types of programs, such as programs for medical professions, are clearly needed, but so is a type of program called a university center. University centers are programs in which other colleges and universities can partner with NWACC to provide their four-year degrees using NWACC facilities.

Read the full article here.

EMSI’s gap analysis drew on an integrated database of over 70 public sources to organize key demographic, economic, and labor market information for the college. The report was prepared as part of a statewide initiative that included similar reports for all Arkansas community and technical colleges.

Timely data and analysis from EMSI were critical for a recent gap analysis report performed for Kingsborough Community College in New York. The final report was created by EMSI’s partner Workforce Strategy Center, a New York based nonprofit, in the summer of 2007 and was recently released on their web site.

The report focused on tourism and hospitality, non-nursing health care, retail, and maritime industry sectors. In particular, the report helped inform the college’s newly-launched Project Welcome, an initiative designed to train students for careers in New York’s fast-growing tourism and hospitality industries. In a recent local news article, representatives from the college and Workforce Strategy Center lauded the project’s success.

Indeed, a year after the launch of the program, Project Welcome, Kingsborough Community College (KCC) is reporting success above and beyond what was initially predicted, opening the door to potential success for those just beginning their work careers as well as those making mid-life career changes.

Stuart Schulman, the director of KCC’s Center for Economic and Workforce Development, said that Project Welcome – which had been established thanks to a $1.7 million grant from the United States Department of Labor – had exceeded the federal requirements as far as the number of people trained is concerned. In addition, Schulman said that the program — which centers on a 280-hour, 10 week course — had also exceeded its goals in terms of placement.

The framework used by Workforce Strategy Center, known as “Career Pathways,” is designed to help workers get training for jobs in high-demand fields with clear opportunities for future career advancement. It has been successfully paired with EMSI’s wealth of regional labor market data in several workforce development projects around the country.

Community College Bridges to Opportunity Initiative: Started by the Ford Foundation, the goals of this initiative are (1) “Promote policy innovation which supports the integration of the multiple community college missions through selected engagement of policymakers, institutional practitioners, and multi-stakeholder coalitions of support from business, labor, and community groups, educational leaders and others; (2) Research ways in which state and local policies can enhance community colleges’ efforts to expand educational and economic opportunities for disadvantaged students; and, (3) Develop models of effective institutional classroom and administrative practice for use by policymakers, college administrators, and advocacy coalitions.” Be sure to check out their Community College Career Pathways Toolkit.

This case study describes how EMSI (then CCbenefits) helped inform the Arkansas Career Pathways Initiative with regional labor market reports.

The Arkansas CPI is a groundbreaking program that helps high-risk, low-income adults gain entry into careers with opportunity for upward mobility. Graduates are filling in-demand jobs in regional growth industries while gaining independence from public assistance.

Read the case study (PDF): Informing Career Pathways in Arkansas (Case Study)

Read the full story here.

Burlington County College graduates can expect to make an additional $6 in earnings over 30 years for every dollar they invest in their education, according to a recent study released by the college.

The college graduates get jobs, pay taxes, and use their income to purchase things such as homes, college President Robert Messina said. In addition the college helps to reduce unemployment and crime rates, he said.

Because of that, the study found that the state and county get back $23.60 on every dollar they invest at the college.

The College Board’s National Commission on Community Colleges has released its final report, titled “Winning the Skills Race and Strengthening America’s Middle Class: An Action Agenda for Community Colleges.”

The report highlights the contributions of America’s community colleges and their potential for meeting key future challenges for our national economy, while at the same time bemoaning the fact that they are “the nation’s overlooked asset.”

It goes on to make some key recommendations, such as:

1. Federal reform legislation to modernize and reinvigorate colleges at a national level.
2. State and local reform efforts to improve funding and align K-20 systems.
3. College efforts to improve accountability metrics, degree production, and student access and success.

The Association of Community College Trustees, a long-time partner of EMSI/CCbenefits, has posted a statement applauding the report and reinforcing its conclusions.

Last summer, EMSI completed a study of the Walla Walla region’s wine production and tourism cluster. Recently the Wall Street Journal ran this article that focuses on the leadership of Walla Walla Community College, which is arguably responsible for the industry’s rapid growth and which has sparked numerous similar programs at other community colleges across the country.

Among the figures cited in the WSJ article is the stunning result of EMSI’s study: that the wine production and tourism industry has saved the area’s economy from stagnation or decline in the past decade, and that in the next decade over 15% of the area’s jobs will be directly or indirectly dependent on it.

The story is a stellar example of how community colleges can become leaders in economic development–with the right mix of foresight, initiative, passion, and (let’s admit it) a bit of good luck.

Read EMSI’s full report (PDF)

Walla Walla Community College, Institute for Enology and Viticulture

Walla Walla Wine Cluster Economic Development Project

Walla Walla Valley Wine Alliance

Read the full story here.

A new study shows Western Iowa Tech Community College annually contributes more than $308 million to the Siouxland economy, equal to about 5.5 percent of the region’s total income.

“The report confirms the indispensable role that WITCC plays in the regional economy,” WITCC President Dr. Robert Dunker said. “And, what is equally important, the report establishes the college’s major impact on regional vitality by providing hard facts and dollar values using the most reliable methods available.”

Idaho-based EMSI/CCbenefits Inc., a leading provider of socioeconomic impact and strategic planning tools to community and technical colleges in the United States and Canada, conducted the study for Western Iowa Tech and the state’s other 14 community colleges.

Broome Community College in New York has released the results of an EMSI impact study that concludes the college has a $290 million impact on the regional and state economy.

“This report details the role that the college plays in promoting economic development, enhancing students’ careers, and improving the overall quality of life,” said Dr. Spraggs. “The report was created with a vast array of data sources and standard, peer-reviewed analysis taking into account hard facts and dollar values. As the College is funded by students and local and state taxpayers, I believe it’s important for the community to know specifically what the financial contributions of the College are and what educational and economic benefits students and community members continue to receive.”

Read the full story here.