Ivy Tech study touts benefit to Indiana economy

Ivy Tech Community College
Report: $700 million impact is more than five times what state provides in funding

By Steve Hinnefeld 331-4374 | shinnefeld@heraldt.com
April 24, 2007

Ivy Tech Community College contributes more than $700 million a year to Indiana’s economy, according to a study released Monday by the college.

That’s more than five times what Indiana spends to support Ivy Tech, says the study, made public as the Legislature is completing work on the state budget for the next two years.

Titled “Strength in Numbers: The Economic Impact of Ivy Tech Community College,” the study was done by Workforce Associates Inc. using state employment figures and federal census and education data.

It says the average Ivy Tech graduate will have lifetime earnings more than 74 percent higher than the average Hoosier with only a high school diploma.

And because Ivy Tech programs are tailored to employment markets, it says, graduates earn 37 percent more than the average Indiana resident with an associate’s degree or some college education.

The report details Ivy Tech’s statewide impact and doesn’t break it down to the college’s 23 campuses and 14 regions. But Ron Walker, director of the Bloomington Economic Development Corp., said it’s a safe bet that Ivy Tech Bloomington contributes at least its share.

He said the campus is one of Bloomington’s chief assets for local businesses that are expanding and for companies that consider locating in the area.

“They’re essentially the work-force trainer of choice for this area,” he said.

Walker said the local Ivy Tech campus has developed programs in biotechnology and related fields to help meet a projected demand for 1,200 to 1,500 workers for life-science companies.

“They operate in a very flexible and responsive manner for the local community,” he said.

Ivy Tech offers two-year associate’s degrees, work-force certificates and training geared to industries. With more than 100,000 students, it is Indiana’s second-largest institution of higher education.

It joins Indiana University and Purdue University in attempting to document its effect on the Indiana economy. IU, in a December 2006 report, said the impact of its eight campuses was $3.2 billion. Purdue, using different methods, said its impact was $2.94 billion.

The Ivy Tech study says the college employs 6,100 people, whose after-tax disposable income totals $116.6 million. Spending by the college and its students accounted for thousands of additional jobs, it says.

With increased earnings, the study says, the average Ivy Tech graduate will recover what he or she spends in college costs and lost earnings in just over three years.

On the Web:

For more information on the Ivy Tech economic impact study, visit: www.ivytech.edu/news/IVY_EconReport_04_2007.pdf