H. Martin Lancaster,
President
North Carolina Community College System
North Carolina Association of Community College Trustees
Newsletter, Winter 2005
"
Prove it."How many times have you thought that -- and probably said that -- when you've heard claims about how great somebody or something is?
How many times have you wondered what you should say, when someone asks you to prove that North Carolina's community colleges are great investments for our state?
Of course we know they are. We who work in community colleges know the students whose lives are changed. We work every day with the employers who count on us for skilled workers. We help attract and grow industry.
Many times, however, I have wished to add hard numbers to the terrific anecdotes of our success and value. Thanks to the performance measures we have gathered and reported for several years, we have numbers to prove that North Carolina's community colleges do the job of educating and training North Carolinians very well.
And now, thanks to a ground-breaking study, we have the numbers to prove how much that performance is worth to our students, to their communities and to their state.
The North Carolina Community College System and the North Carolina Association of Community College Presidents contracted with CC Benefits, Inc., a national research firm, to study the socioeconomic impact of the 58 comprehensive community colleges and of the system as a whole. We expected solid, useful information. We got a stunning success story that represents a tremendous validation for the wisdom of out state's investment in community college example.
Here are just a few of the most striking findings:
 | Students graduating from North Carolina Community Colleges enjoy an 18.6% annual return on their investment. For every dollar invested by a student, that student will receive $4.24 back in future, higher earnings. Few investments offer students this level of return. |
- North Carolina community colleges are net providers of public revenue. (i.e. they put more into the state coffers than they take out.) Every dollar of state and local tax money invested today returns a cumulative of $17.03 over the next 32 years.
- According to the study, North Carolina community colleges account for $1.4 billion in the North Carolina economy (equal to approximately 52,000 jobs).
These statewide statistics are echoed, with some variations, across the state. Some of you know your own data well, because several institutions commissioned similar individual studies during the past few years. I urge you to become familiar with all the findings for your community college and to use them to advocate for funding and support and, very importantly, to plan for the future.
Every trustee is good at telling the moving success stories of his or her community college. Think what an impact those stories will have when you back them up with numbers like these.
If you want to know more about the CC Benefits study, talk to your community college president or contact the System Office at 919-807-6962.
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