MADISON—Through the economic benefits accruing to its graduates and through its institutional spending, Wisconsin’s 16 technical colleges help generate more than $6.9 billion of state output annually. That figure represents 3.2% of the state total, according to a new study done by the consulting arm of the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance (WISTAX) at the request of the Wisconsin Technical College System (WTCS).

Each year, tax dollars invested in WTCS to educate more than 409,000 citizens cycle through the economy, creating economic output, jobs, and higher wages. Using a computer input-output model that estimates economic impact, the WISTAX study estimated that the $1.03 billion of 2005-06 WTCS spending that remained in the state helped to generate $2.82 billion of state output. Furthermore, additional earnings (above what they would have earned as high school graduates) of current and past WTCS students helped create an additional $4.09 billion of state output. This latter estimate is a lower bound on WTCS’s impact, as the study could not measure the economic impact of working adults who take individual courses or students obtaining high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).

The report, "Growing Wisconsin’s Economy: The Economic Impact of Wisconsin’s Technical Colleges," also estimated the return that taxpayers receive on public investment in the technical colleges. In 2005-06, state and local taxes totalling $778 million were leveraged with other revenues to generate the $1.4 billion of spending. The estimated $2.82 billion of state output generated represented a return to taxpayers of $3.62 for every $1 invested.

The WISTAX study also estimated a state-local investment of $360.6 million in 2005-06 graduates during their years of study. Over their lifetimes, these graduates are estimated to earn an additional $2.11 billion over what they would have earned as high school graduates, or nearly $6 for each $1 invested.

The additional social impact of post-secondary education, e.g., reduced crime and fewer demands on social services, was not estimated in the study. The full report can be accessed on the WISTAX Web site (www.wistax.org/facts/wtcs.pdf).  o