Study Reveals That SWCC Has Major Economic Impact on Region
A recently released Socioeconomic Impact Study (SEIM) has revealed that the Southwest Virginia Community College service region has an annual $370.5 million impact in regional income due to SWCC and its students. Southwest serves the counties of Buchanan, Dickenson (partial), Russell, and Tazewell. The study was conducted by EMSI (Economic Modeling Specialists, Inc.).
This annual impact is broken out as: $17,020,300 due to college operations; $41,000 from student spending; and $353,444,200 as a result of past student productivity.
“Southwest remains one of the largest employers in the region,” said Dr. J. Mark Estepp, president of SWCC. “The study was commissioned so that we (SWCC) could have a detailed understanding of the college’s total economic impact on the region,” said Estepp.
“The study is analyzed from two perspectives,” said Dr. Len Kogut, vice president of financial and administrative services, “the first is an analysis of regional economic growth, the second is an investment analysis.”
The analysis of regional economic growth measured added regional income due to the daily activities of the college, student spending and the cumulative effects of the college’s past students in the workplace. The investment analysis treated education funding as an investment, calculating all measureable returns and comparing them to costs, from the perspectives of students, taxpayers, and society as a whole.
According to the study, the analysis of economic growth revealed that SWCC affects the local economy in three ways: through its local purchases, including wages paid to faculty and staff; through the spending of students who come from outside the region, and through a human capital effect stemming from an increase in the skill base of the local workforce.
The investment analysis revealed that SWCC students enjoy a 23% rate of return on their investments of time and money. In addition, the study estimated that the activities of SWCC’s current students contribute a sum total of $12.3 million in taxable income to the Virginia economy each year.
“The study points to the fact that there is a benefit/cost ratio of 1.7,” said Dr. Bob Tomlinson, vice president of instruction. “What this means is that for every dollar of state or local tax money invested in SWCC today that investment will return $1.70,” said Tomlinson.
“There are so many reasons that Virginia community colleges are an excellent investment for the state, including the fact that reduced crime can be directly related to the attainment of higher education,” said Pat Bussard, public relations coordinator. “The social perspective of higher education cannot be over emphasized. Issues such as improved health and reduced welfare and unemployment can all be related directly to higher education and skills training,” said Bussard.
“Southwest is certainly a sound investment from multiple perspectives, most profoundly for our students,” said Phyllis Roberts, vice president of institutional advancement. “The college directly enriches the lives of students and increases their lifetime incomes; this in turn positively impacts the economic climate of our region,” said Roberts.
The college also benefits taxpayers by generating increased tax revenues from an enlarged economy and reducing the demand for taxpayer-supported social services. All of this contributes to the vitality of both local and state economies.