The state's taxpayers are getting a great return on their investment in community colleges, including the four in the Southern Illinois area, according to a new study released Monday by the Illinois Community College Board.

The study titled, "The Economic Impact of Illinois Community Colleges," was conducted by the Northern Illinois University Center for Governmental Studies and looked at "the effectiveness and vitality" of Illinois' 48 community colleges in 39 districts.

"I think you can see by the numbers generated in this report that community colleges are one of the largest economic engines in the state," said ICCB Chairman Guy Alongi. "They offer the best bang for your buck."

According to the study, the state's community colleges:

lAdd skills to the workforce and boost the competitiveness of businesses.

For instance, nearly every area employer, or 97.9 percent, hired a John A. Logan College student at some point over the past 10 years.

Also, there was also a 36.7 percent increase in students who completed a JALC program from 1996 to 2006. The occupational program area with the largest completer earnings gain was health professions and related sciences. In addition to its baccalaureate transfer and other programs, JALC trained close to 16,000 people in its Center for Business and Industry last year.

"We're seven times higher than the state average and have been number one in the state for the past eight years for number of people trained," JALC President Robert L. Mees said.

lHave graduates who generate billions of dollars in local, state, and federal tax revenues.

Illinois community college students who graduated in 1995 paid an estimated $168 million in state taxes and $650 million in federal taxes over the next 10 years. For instance, the RLC Class of 1995 alone paid an estimated $2.1 million in state taxes and $8.8 million in federal taxes in that same time frame;

lHelp increase earnings for workers who attend them.

By completing courses, students gain skills that contribute to higher earnings. Graduates enjoy even higher returns. For example, on average, all Southeastern Illinois College students who completed their education in FY05 and worked year-round increased their earnings by nearly a third over their pre-enrollment wages. SIC graduates employed full-time after completing their programs of study averaged wages about 250 percent above the state's minimum wage.

"The study underscores the fact that Southeastern Illinois College is a very important part of the economic development of our community," said SIC President Ray Cummiskey. "It tells us that we are supplying regional employers with qualified employees."

lAre major employers that generate billions of dollars in local sales and wages and more than 55,000 jobs.

For example, Shawnee Community College has a total payroll of $10,105,165 for its 403 full- and part-time employees and also reported $2,195,477 in operating expenditures. These monies produced an estimated $317,076 in output for a total economic impact of $2,512,553 million and an estimated additional 53 jobs.

"With a total economic impact of over $12 million annually (from salaries and operational expenses) Shawnee College is a large part of the economic engine of the district it serves. Taking into account that the average graduate earns more than 185 percent above the state minimum, Shawnee is helping families and individuals reach economic sustainability through our programming," said Ronald Duncan, SCC associate vice president.

Mees said a similar study in 2002 showed the state's taxpayers got back about 13.8 percent of their investment in community colleges.

"And I think that would be comparable today," he said. "The bottom line is that taxpayers are getting back more than they put into community colleges. And at the same time, community colleges remain a bargain for students, too."

Alongi said that while the state's community colleges received only $300 million of the state's $1.3 billion higher education funding last year, community colleges are one of the best bargains around, especially given that they educate about 62 percent of the higher education students in the state's system.

"People need to really understand what our community colleges do and how much of an impact they have on our local and state economy," Alongi said.

The full study can be accessed on the ICCB Web site at www.iccb.org.

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