Analysis of the Return on Investment and Economic Impact of Education

criminal justice system expenditures. Unemployment savings include the reduced employer contributions towards unemployment claims. For a list of study references to these statistical benefits, please contact the college for a copy of the main report. Figure 4 shows the present value of the higher earnings and social savings that will occur in New York over the working lifetime of the FY 2014-15 student population at MCC. Higher earnings amounts to a present value of $4.2 billion due to the increased lifetime earnings of students and associated increases in business output. Social savings amount to $61.3 million, the sum of health, crime, and unemployment savings in New York. Altogether, total benefits to society equal $4.2 billion (in present value terms). Society invested $305.2 million in MCC educations during the analysis year. This includes all expenditures by MCC, all student expenditures, and all student opportunity costs. For every dollar of this investment, society as a whole in New York will receive a cumulative value of $13.90 in benefits, equal to the $4.2 billion in benefits divided by the $305.2 million in costs. These benefits will occur for as long as MCC’s FY 2014-15 students remain employed in the state workforce. SUMMARY OF INVESTMENT ANALYSIS RESULTS Table 3 presents the results of the investment analysis for all three of MCC’s major stakeholder groups—students, taxpayers, and society. As shown, students receive great value for their educational investment. At the same time, the investment made by state and local taxpayers to the college creates a wide range of benefits to society and returns more to government budgets than it costs.

TABLE 3: Summary of investment analysis results

STUDENT PERSPECTIVE TAXPAYER PERSPECTIVE

SOCIAL PERSPECTIVE

$748,666 $170,913 $577,753

$419,155

$4,248,910

Present value benefits (thousands)

$84,790

$305,155

Costs (thousands)

$334,365

$3,943,756

Net present value (thousands)

4.4

4.9

13.9

Benefit-cost ratio

16.0%

14.8%

N/A

Rate of return

* The rate of return is not reported for the social perspective because the beneficiaries of the investment are not necessarily the same as the original investors.

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