The Colorado Community College System generates more than $3 billion every year in economic benefits to the state and local communities, according to a study released Tuesday.
Community college students in the state receive an annual return of 11 percent on their investment in education, the study by Economic Modeling Specialists Inc. found.
Over the course of a working lifetime, Colorado community college graduates with associate degrees earn $502,100 more than someone with a high school diploma, the study showed.
Citing statistics that show only 70 of every 100 Colorado students entering ninth grade graduate from high school and that only 44 of those graduates go on to college, CCCS president Nancy McCallin said the EMSI study shows the economic value of remaining in school. “It seems so few high school students want to go to college. They’re saying, ‘What’s in it for me? I can get a job,’ ” she said. “But studies like this show the importance of education.”
About $222 million of the economic impact came from the operation of the community college system itself. In the 2009-10 academic year, there were more than 150,000 students paying tuition and fees and more than 5,600 employees drawing salaries.
McCallin said the $3 billion figure may be conservative because the impact of students who transfer from community colleges to four-year institutions wasn’t included. That was also true of students who don’t get degree credits for the classes they take at the schools.
