“About $165 million is generated into the east central Alberta economy by Lakeland College through purchases, wages paid to faculty and staff, through the spending of our students, and through a human capital effect stemming from an increase in the skill base of our workforce,” said Glenn 
Charlesworth, president of Lakeland College.
This figure includes $121.1 million in past-student productivity, $23.1 million in labour and non-labour income due to Lakeland College operations and capital spending, and $20.8 million in student spending. “Our students spend money on accommodations, groceries, entertainment, fuel and other day-to-day expenses,” said Charlesworth. “Many also have part-time jobs that contribute to the economy.”
The money students pay now to attend Lakeland College will result in increased earnings over their lifetime. For every $1 students invest in a Lakeland College education, they receive a cumulative of $4.60 in higher future earnings over their working careers. From an investment standpoint, Lakeland College students enjoy a 17 per cent annual rate of return on their investments of time and money. Put another way, Lakeland College students will see their annual income increase by $151 per year for every credit completed at Lakeland College.
In the big picture, skilled workers tend to be fully employed, benefit from higher earnings, and therefore help to expand the tax base and reduce the tax burden on individual provincial and local taxpayers. The provincial and local community can expect to see reduced social costs estimated at about $10 per year for every credit earned by Lakeland College students, including savings associated with improved health, reduced crime, and fewer welfare and unemployment claims.
The results of this study demonstrate that Lakeland College is a sound investment from multiple perspectives. The college enriches the lives of students and increases their lifetime incomes. Taxpayers benefit thanks to increased tax revenues from an enlarged economy and reduced demand for taxpayer-supported social services. And finally, Lakeland College contributes to the vitality of both the local and provincial economies.
In this study, CCBenefits, a leading provider of socioeconomic impact and strategic planning tools to support community colleges and technical institutes, applied a comprehensive economic model designed to quantify the economic benefits of colleges and technical institutions and translate these into common sense benefit/cost and investment terms. This economic impact model has been subjected to peer review and field-tested to generate more than 700 studies for community and technical colleges in the U.S. and Canada. The study was jointly funded by AACTI and the provincial government.
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See pdf Fact Sheet for more information
For more information or interviews, contact:
Phil Allen, Director
Marketing and Enrolment Management
Lakeland College
780 808 0397
Tim Schultz, Executive Director
Alberta Association of Colleges & Technical Institutes
780 378 1277
e-mail: tschultz@nait.ca
