Warren Wilson College recently released a study on the economic impact of North Carolina’s higher education institutions (NCHE institutions), exploring the effect of spending by the institutions themselves as well as auxiliary spending stemming from the educational organizations’ existence.
The report, which details figures from fiscal year 2012-2013, posits that NCHE institutions’ day-to-day spending (which accounted for some $10.7 billion in payroll and benefits, and another $11.3 billion on goods and services) contributes to a significant “multiplier effect,” resulting in further downstream spending and economic activity. The study reads:
This analysis shows that in FY 2012-13, payroll and operations spending of NCHE institutions, together with the spending of their students, visitors, alumni, and start-up companies, created $63.5 billion in added state income to the North Carolina economy. Although we use terminology added state income to refer to the economic impacts, it is helpful to realize that state income in this context is equivalent to the commonly referred to measure of Gross State Product. The added state income, or additional Gross State Product, of $63.5 billion created by NCHE institutions is equal to approximately 14.6% of the total Gross State Product of North Carolina, and is equivalent to creating 1,021,158 new jobs.
Representatives from Warren Wilson College, the institution leading the study, were pleased to hear of WWC’s own impact on the North Carolina economy. A press release from WWC reads:
Warren Wilson College may be a relatively small institution, but the college has a big economic impact beyond its Swannanoa Valley campus. That impact is evident in the results of the N.C. Higher Education Economic Impact Study, released Wednesday.
According to the study, in fiscal year 2012-13 Warren Wilson created $38.8 million in added county income to the economy in Buncombe County. The study notes that this income is equivalent to creating 728 new jobs in the county. It also states, “To generate these impacts, WWC spent $14.8 million in payroll and benefits for 258 full-time and part-time employees, and spent another $7 million on goods and services to carry out its day-to-day operations.”
The University of North Carolina System, N.C. Community College System and N.C. Independent Colleges and Universities (NCICU) participated in the project – the first comprehensive study of the economic value of higher education in North Carolina. Economic Modeling Specialists International, a leading provider of economic impact studies, conducted the extensive study.
“Private higher education has been a critical part of North Carolina’s economy for more than 200 years and that impact continues to grow as we increase partnerships with our public higher education partners,” said NCICU President A. Hope Williams, Ph.D. “From our small liberal arts colleges to our comprehensive and research universities, private higher education affects all aspects of the quality of life of North Carolina citizens.”
The full, 64-page study, funded by the North Carolina Business Higher Ed Foundation, the NC Community Colleges Foundation, and UNC system and several NCICU campuses, is available here.
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