Detroit, of course, has been rocked by foreclosures during the recession, but the model estimates that the city would see the amount of homeowners grow by 8,000 and an increase of $130 million in wages over an average year if the dropout rate was reduced by 50%.

That is one of the surprising findings produced in the new report by the Alliance for Excellent Education, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group. The Alliance teamed up with Editorial Projects in Education and Economic Modeling Specialists to develop economic projections for the largest 45 U.S. Census-defined metropolitan areas based on their current and potential graduation rates.

In the Detroit area, the research team found if dropouts were reduced by half, they would make a profound difference in the region’s economy and civic life. That’s because Americans with higher levels of education earn much higher levels of wages.

The model also estimates the percentage of those who don’t drop out who will further their education with postsecondary degrees. That number is 45% for Detroit and 71% for Oakland, the MSA with the highest percentage.

For more results from the model for other major metro areas, click here. And if you’re interested in learning more about the dropout model, please contact Rob Sentz.

Here’s an excerpt from the article, which cites a very recent return-on-investment study done by EMSI on two-year colleges in Washington state.

At a time when the economy is lumbering along like a rusted bucket of bolts, community colleges are rushing to provide workers with technical skills demanded by established and emerging industries that are poised for growth, among them health information technology, energy, transportation, advanced manufacturing and green jobs. Regions that in the past might have hawked tax breaks, the ready availability of inexpensive labor and other financial incentives to recruit companies are seeking a competitive advantage by touting the training capacity of their community colleges.

A growing number of community colleges are compiling reports to show their impact on local and state economies. A new Washington Trustees Association for Community and Technical College report shows a demand for workforce training programs even during the current economic downturn. Washington state will need 32,965 more workers with one or two years of postsecondary training by 2012, for jobs such as surgical technicians, welders, auto mechanics, dental hygienists and accounting technicians.

The report by Economic Modeling Specialists Inc. also gives details on investment returns. Taxpayers get a 7 percent long-term return on investment in Washington’s community and technical colleges—a much higher return than most publicly funded investments, the report said. Community college students see a 43 percent return on investment, it noted.

For a case study on the Washington ROI report, click here.

Solis entered public life in 1985 when she was elected to the board of trustees of Rio Hondo Community College in California. She then started her political career in early 1990s. If Solis is confirmed by the Senate, she will replace Elaine L. Chao, the Secretary of Labor for the past eight years.

For more on Solis and her history as a proponent of alternative energy and environmental issues, check out this story in Community College Times. Here’s a brief excerpt:

In Congress, Solis co-authored the Green Jobs Act, which later became part of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, a measure that authorized $125 million for workforce training programs in areas such as energy efficiency retrofitting and “green building” construction.

“We can think of no better person to help President-elect Obama implement his plans for an economic recovery fueled by the creation of millions of new green jobs,” said Carl Pope, executive director of the Sierra Club.

A good look at what Tennessee is doing can be found in this article in the Tennessean newspaper.

“Green is a good direction to go,” said Bill Fox, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. “It will be a growth industry, especially with the Obama stimulus package.

Tennessee provides an excellent location for the new industries, primarily because of its location and available work force, he said.

The green-energy industry could replace many of the manufacturing jobs the state has lost over the past decade, and they would be high-paying positions in a growing sector, Fox said.

For more insight into the policy implications of creating green jobs, EMSI recently crafted this data spotlight.

Watch the video here.

EMSI contributed to the project and is very pleased to hear about the town’s success. We prepared a case study, which you can read here.

Summary: Nearly 1,900 workers in the small community lost their jobs once Whirlpool, which acquired Maytag in 2006, closed the facility. After being awarded the U.S. Department of Labor’s first-ever Regional Innovation Grant, regional leaders contracted with EMSI and consulting firm Maher & Maher to come up with a revitalization plan.

Thus far, the results have been very promising. The small community recruited new industries (specifically wind energy firms) to make up for the loss of the giant appliance manufacturer. Currently, about 1,200 jobs have been reclaimed through the addition of a handful of new companies to the area.

GREELEY – Aims Community College contributes $1 billion per year to the regional economy, according to a new report.

Idaho-based research firm Economic Modeling Specialists Inc. analyzed Aims’ impacts through local purchases including wages; spending of students who travel from outside of the region; and the increase in the local workforce’s skill base.

“We’ve always known the benefits Aims provides to the region, but it’s very impressive to have it quantified, to have the tangible numbers,” said Marsi Liddell, president of Aims, in a prepared statement.

The report highlighted such benefits as a $169 annual income increase for every credit a student completes at Aims; an 18 percent return on investment for students’ time and money; and a 7.8 percent return on investment for state and local taxpayers. The report also quantified the impact of a reduced crime rate and lower welfare and unemployment.