An Independent Assessment of the Impact of Broward College

Key Findings 

• At current levels of enrollment, annual federal, state and local tax revenue due to the economic impacts of Broward College is $240,428,739. 
• The majority of undergraduate students in Broward County attend Broward College (57 percent) in 2018-19. 
• Broward College has low tuition rates compared to other institutions in the area and very low levels of total student debt. 
• As expected, wages are higher for Certificate or Associates’ Degree completers than non-completers but wages were also higher for Broward College completers than from comparable institutions. The average annual differential between the earnings of a Broward College graduate and a worker in Florida with only a high school degree is at least $8,288 per year (when measured at median earnings per year by occupation across occupations typically requiring an Associate of Arts versus occupations typically requiring a high school diploma). This annual differential rises to $21,448 for Associate of Science degrees, and $17,756 for Baccalaureate degrees. 
• Weighted for the number of graduates by type of degree, and assuming that Associate of Arts graduates stop with that credential, these increased earnings average $167,182 per degree recipient. 
• Looking strictly at economic activity that stays in the region, there are 13,147 sustainable jobs in the regional economy generating an annual total of $625 million in wages to workers and income to business proprietors that stays in the local economy. 
• About 68 percent of the economic impact of the College (regional Gross Domestic Product) is driven by the skills, credentials, and increased earning capacity of the graduating students. 
• A Broward College education is becoming increasingly valuable over time, relative to a high school diploma. All signs indicate that these trends will continue. 
• It is expected that there will be 70,251 job openings for Associates’ Degree graduates in the Tri-County (Broward, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach) South Florida region over the next 10 years. 
• The high earnings differential means that, for every $1 that a Broward College graduate spends on their education, they can expect to earn $6.63 in additional personal income (in present money value) over a working career. This ratio peaks at $13.52 for Associate of Science graduates but is $5.22 for Associate of Arts graduates who do not pursue further education. 
• On average, graduates earn a 9.7 percent return on their investment of time and money.