The Economic Impact of NH's Community Colleges

Adding annually to the pool of highly educated and skilled labor is among the most important benefits higher education institutions provide. New Hampshire’s ability to retain and attract businesses that will keep the state’s economy strong is reliant on the state’s capacity to generate a skilled workforce. The most significant role of the Community College System of New Hampshire (CCSNH) is in preparing state residents with the education and training they need to be successful.

NH’s community colleges provide education and training to more than 27,000 students annually. Fully 93 percent are NH residents, 60 percent are of “traditional” college age (18 to 24), and 40 percent are 25 and older.  
 
CCSNH directly and indirectly affects the NH economy by helping to develop a skilled workforce that aligns with NH employer needs, and also through employment and expenditures, producing an overall economic impact of more than $1 billion annually.  
 
The most important component of that $1 billion impact is through the provision of affordable and accessible education, and pathways to well-playing employment to residents across the state. NH residents with an associate degree earn on average 27 percent more annually than residents with only a high school degree. A skilled workforce pipeline is also very important because it helps the state compete for workers with employers from other states. CCSNH’s contribution to a more skilled population results in a $964 million economic impact annually.
 
In addition to the economics, CCSNH creates a $77 million annual economic impact from employment and employee expenditures and institutional expenditures on goods and services in NH. And, there are the non-quantifiable impacts that include contributions by community college students, faculty and staff through community service, internships, service learning, the provision of professional expertise and other activities which support community organizations and businesses in the state.
 
CCSNH is preparing New Hampshire’s future workforce while working to keep education affordable. Continued state support to the community colleges to address affordability is critical. In the last budget cycle, state funding was directed to lowering tuition and increasing affordability of educational pathways. This has resulted in increased enrollment of students at these colleges in programs aligned with employer needs. The result is an increased pool of skilled workers who possess critical thinking skills and who can adapt to new and evolving technologies in high-demand fields.
 
In addition to lowering tuition in 2014, the community colleges froze tuition in four of the last nine years. And with educational partners including the University System of NH, CCSNH is strengthening access to transfer pathways so students can start at a community college and transfer seamlessly and cost effectively to complete a four-year degree, including through new dual-admission programs with UNH.  
 
In a time of significant economic change, NH’s community colleges have continued to focus on student academic and economic success, flexibility in programing in alignment with employer needs, and new partnerships with industry and other educational institutions. CCSNH’s work to strengthen New Hampshire’s workforce, and its impact of $1 billion annually to the state’s economy, are critical elements in New Hampshire’s economic future and quality of life.
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Ross Gittell is an economist and chancellor of the Community College System of New Hampshire. Jeremy Hitchcock is CEO and a co-founder of Dyn Inc and a Community College System of NH board member.  For more detailed analysis, see the complete White Paper entitled “The Community College System of New Hampshire-An Economic Impact Study” at www.ccsnh.edu/whitepaper.