Community Colleges Have a

$19 Billion Annual Impact

on the North Carolina Economy

New Study Shows N.C. Community Colleges Contribute $19.3 Billion to State’s Economy Each Year

March 22, 2022

The State’s Great 58 Community Colleges Generate Nearly Double the Revenue Invested by Taxpayers

RALEIGH – The N.C. State Board of Community Colleges (NCSBCC) today received a new report, presented byJohn M. Belk Endowment Chair MC Belk-Pilon, N.C. Senator Deanna Ballard and Anna Brown from Emsi/Burning Glass, showing that the N.C. Community College System contributes about $19.3 billion to the state’s economy each year. Expressed in terms of jobs, the colleges’ impact supported 319,763 jobs. The study indicates that the state’s unified system of 58 community colleges generate nearly double the revenue from what they take in from taxpayers. For every one dollar the state invests, taxpayers get $1.90 back in added tax revenues and public sector savings. In addition, N.C. community college students enjoyed an average rate of return on their college investment of 22.3%.

“The Community College System serves over half a million students each year and fuels North Carolina’s job engine,” said Thomas Stith, president, N.C. Community College System. “Our strong partnerships with business and industry in our communities and around the globe are creating a demand for our community colleges to provide the unique and skilled workforce needed, and we are leading economic recovery efforts in North Carolina.”

Following are other highlights from the State Board meeting.

The Board received an informational session addressing the employee pipeline, disconnected youth and emergency preparedness. Presenters were Commissioner Frank Williams and Laurel Edwards from the N.C. Association of County Commissioners and Dr. David Shockley, president of Surry Community College.

The Board received an interim report on the development of the System’s Strategic Plan for 2022-2026.

The Board approved the hiring of Brennan Rufa to fill one of nine new cybersecurity positions designed to support the development, delivery and maintenance of a strong cybersecurity and risk management program for the community college system. Rufa comes to the System Office from Applied Research Associates, where he is currently serving as an information systems security officer. Rufa will graduate from Wake Technical Community College with his A.A.S. in cybersecurity in summer 2022. Rufa also received advanced training from the U.S. Army.

About the North Carolina State Board of Community Colleges (SBCC)

The SBCC is organized and operates in accordance with N.C. General Statute 115D-2.1, as amended by Session Law 2021-90. The Board has 22 members, 18 who are appointed to six-year terms, and four ex officio members (State treasurer, lieutenant governor, commissioner of Labor and N.C. Student Government Association president). Meetings occur the third Thursday and Friday of each month, with the exception of June and December. Read more.

PARTNERING ORGANIZATIONS

This report was developed from a working group of community partners formed to collaborate with Emsi Burning Glass to produce an Economic Impact Study (EIS) and five Program-Specific Economic Impact Studies (PSEIS) for each of the 58 community colleges and the combined system with support from the North Carolina General Assembly.