Spending Associated with Chattahoochee Technical College has more than $100 Million Impact in Region

UGA economist: technical colleges are ‘an enduring pillar’ of state’s regional economy

(Marietta, Ga. – March 7, 2014) How much does the six county area served by Chattahoochee Technical College benefit economically from spending that is either directly or indirectly related to the college?

According to Dr. Jeffrey M. Humphreys, director of the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business, it adds up to $104,722,504. The economic impact is in a new report from Dr. Humphreys that details his analysis of economic data from the Technical College System of Georgia for the 2012 fiscal year.

The study also found that the college’s spending results in Chattahoochee Technical College public and private sector jobs. Humphreys reported that statewide, for each job created on a TCSG college campus, one off-campus job exists because of college-related expenditures.  One in every 264 nonfarm jobs in Georgia, he said, occurs because of spending associated with a TCSG college.

“The fundamental finding is that each of the TCSG colleges, including Chattahoochee Technical College, creates substantial economic impacts in terms of output, value added, labor income, and employment. These economic impacts demonstrate that continued emphasis on technical colleges as an enduring pillar of the regional economy translates into jobs, higher incomes, and greater production of goods and services for local households and businesses,” said Humphreys.

The TCSG commissioned Humphreys to calculate the importance that spending connected to the state’s technical colleges has for their service delivery areas, which range in size from two to eleven counties.  Chattahoochee Technical College serves Bartow, Cherokee, Cobb, Gilmer, Paulding and Pickens counties. Several categories of college expenditures were reviewed for the study, including personnel salaries and fringe benefits, college operations, capital construction projects, and student spending, to name a few.

The result, put in the context of the taxpayer investment, indicated that the $18,888,508 state appropriation for Chattahoochee Technical College in 2012 supported the enrollment of 17,394 students, generated $104,722,504 in local spending, and helped to sustain almost 1,288 college-related jobs.

“The economic impact of Chattahoochee Technical College is a substantial factor in the importance of our workforce development mission,” said Chattahoochee Technical College President Dr. Ron Newcomb. “In delivering that mission, we touch the lives of thousands of students who enroll in classes and programs at our eight campuses or online. This study illustrates just what that means to the region when we educate and prepare the local workforce to strengthen the community and its employers.”

Statewide, the $315 million state appropriation for the TCSG in 2012 helped to train almost 153,000 technical college students, contributed to $1.2 billion in direct and indirect spending in communities throughout Georgia, and was a factor in almost 15,000 public and private sector jobs.

“The spending factor alone is a sizable return on the state’s investment in the TCSG, and it would be significantly higher if we were to add the economic value that our graduates create once they leave college and meet employers’ needs for a skilled workforce,” said Ron Jackson, commissioner of the TCSG.

The study did not attempt to measure the value in terms of the increased earnings of TCSG graduates or the colleges’ role in helping the state to attract and retain companies with high-skill, good-paying jobs.  Nor did it calculate the impact of the TCSG’s Quick Start program, a state economic development incentive that provides customized training free of charge to new and expanding businesses.

The full report, The Economic Impact of Technical College System of Georgia Institutions on their Service Delivery Area Economies in FY 2012, is available online at https://tcsg.edu/download/TCSG_Impact_2012_Economic_Activity_1.2014.pdf

The following is a list of the 24 TCSG colleges and their economic and employment impact on their service delivery areas in 2012.  For a map of the colleges’ service delivery areas go to https://tcsg.edu/tech_map.php