A detailed study on the economic impact of the state universities was presented to the Board of Regents at their meeting last week. Consultant Hannah Ruffridge says they looked at the impact of universities simply operating, paying their employees, buying equipment.
Ruffridge says they also subtract out what the impact of state dollars spent on the schools would be if the schools didn’t exist and the money was spent elsewhere. The study looked at the impact of construction activity at the three universities.
The report separated out the impact of the money spent by U-I Healthcare, because she says it is different distinct business.
Spending on research and the actual industries that are being affected by the research activities was also looked at separately.
The report also chronicled the impact of visitors come from outside the state.
The survey went into many more areas, including the impact of keeping students in the state, the impact of graduates. Ruffridge says the first study her company Education Consulting at Lightcast did in 2019 found the impact of universities on the state was eleven-point-three billion dollars, and the second one in 2022 was 14 billion dollars. You can see the full student report on the Board of Regents website.
