Monroe Community College Program Based Economic Impact Analysis, January 2015

nomic impact would increase with time as the alumni gain greater work experience and earn higher wages. The second table in each program summary dis- plays economic impact per worker. To indicate the program’s total output we display the number of com- pleters in the workforce. Next we display the annual economic impact per completer, which is the total economic impact displayed in the first table divided by the net number of working students who have remained in the region. This net number is obtained by multiplying the total number of completers in the workforce by the percent of completers who remain in the region, and the percent of completers who are known to be employed. Each of these adjustment fac- tors come from MCC’s Institutional Research depart- ment and vary by program. The estimated lifetime earnings measurement represents the present value of earnings for an average completer over the course of his or her working life. 1 Present value indicates that future values have been discounted based on the riskiness of students’ investment in education and the time value of money. These earnings figures are simulated using EMSI’s program specific earnings forecast model, which accounts for educational level, years of experience, race/ethnicity, gender, occupa-

tion, and average regional earnings by occupation. The estimated lifetime earnings of graduates in each program at every age between 18 and 67 are dis- played in the first figure in each program summary. For comparison purposes, this graph also contains the estimated annual earnings for these individuals had they never attended MCC (termed the “con- trol” group). The expected earnings generated for the control group are a weighted average based on a mixture of low-skill occupations in which the stu- dent cohorts would be likely to work based on their educational characteristics. It includes occupations such as cashiers, janitors, food service workers, and general laborers. Further information on the earnings estimate model can be found in appendix A. Each program’s economic impact is directly related to the number of completers that are in the workforce, their educational level, and the years of experience accumulated since completing their pro- gram of study. In order to demonstrate these data visually, the second figure in each program summary shows the number of completers per year from MCC’s academic program over the previous ten years at the postsecondary vocational award and associates degree levels.

1 An average student is a composite of an average age, and average racial composition among all program completers.

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P ROGRAM BA S ED ECONOM I C I MP AC T ANA L Y S I S | J ANUAR Y 2 0 1 5

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