Universities help alleviate statewide worker shortages
With low unemployment rates, it’s no wonder that workforce development, K-12 education and higher education have come into focus as critical to keep the economy robust.
One critical factor in the strength of the Colorado economy — including its ability to outperform the nation during economic downturns — is the presence of institutions of higher education.
Economic contributions of institutions of higher education run into the billions of dollars in Colorado, with the Boulder Valley and Northern Colorado hosting the state’s flagship institutions, including Colorado State University in Fort Collins, the University of Colorado Boulder and the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley.
Economic contributions of institutions of higher education run into the billions of dollars in Colorado, with the Boulder Valley and Northern Colorado hosting the state’s flagship institutions, including Colorado State University in Fort Collins, the University of Colorado Boulder and the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley.”
Additionally, Aims Community College, based in Greeley, has campuses in Greeley, Fort Lupton, Loveland and Windsor. Front Range Community College maintains campuses in Fort Collins, Longmont and Westminster.
Regional universities and colleges, in their efforts to meet workforce needs, have had a banner year of development.
UNC, which has been working for multiple years to create an osteopathic medical school, received an infusion of cash — $127.5 million — from the state of Colorado that will enable the university to build the medical-school building.
In the same educational funding measure, CSU received $50 million to help with an expansion of the Veterinary Health and Education Complex.
Meanwhile, Aims Community College agreed to develop a new curriculum that helped to lure Alquist LLC to the community. Alquist uses novel 3D printing technology to construct homes and other buildings. The new Aims program will prepare students for jobs in the industry.
The CSU system generates almost 23,000 Colorado jobs and more than $237.74 million in state income and sales-tax revenue annually, according to a 2021 Economic Impact Report prepared by the university.
“We’re not manufacturing a product; we’re educating people who contribute to society in all the ways educated people do — as teachers, scientists, doctors and nurses, business leaders, manufacturers, technologists, artists, engineers, and the countless other roles that are typically filled by people with higher education,” said Tony Frank, CSU chancellor.
The study — conducted by Rebecca Hill, Harvey Cutler and Martin Shields — found that 112,500 CSU System alumni earned an estimated $7.57 billion from their jobs in 2019. The report also found that total direct and indirect employment impacts amount to 17,300 jobs in Fort Collins, out of the city’s total 84,000.
“The CSU System’s economic impact is felt statewide by bringing in money from federal agencies, out-of-state students, and by transferring knowledge to businesses and industries across Colorado,” the authors wrote in the report. “The CSU System’s economic impact in Fort Collins and Pueblo includes factors considered in the statewide impact, plus money injected into the region from both state government and students from across the state.”
The Economic Impact Study prepared by the Business Research Division of the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado Boulder found that four University of Colorado campuses generated a total economic impact in Colorado of $10.8 billion in fiscal year 2022. That figure includes CU Boulder, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, the University of Colorado Denver and the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical campus. (The numbers also include Anschutz campus hospitals including University of Colorado Hospital and Children’s Hospital Colorado.)
The university system supported 98,175 jobs, mostly in the Boulder, Denver and Colorado Springs MSAs, and generated labor income of $8 billion.
“The University of Colorado is an economic driver in the state of Colorado, employing thousands of workers, buying from local vendors, importing investment, educating the local workforce, and exporting research discoveries,” the report stated. “Aside from the direct impact, the university facilitates company growth and job creation through research, tech transfer, and spinoff companies.”
CU’s Boulder campus alone supports 24,200 jobs, with a total economic impact of $4.3 billion. The campus enrolled 37,500 students in the fall of 2023.
UNC’s economic impact appears poised to grow, with the university receiving state approval to launch an osteopathic medical school. It will be one of only two public medical schools in the state.
The university produces $544.2 million in total economic impact, according to the latest report, with operations-spending impact of $237.9 million and research spending of $4.7 million. UNC supports 8,429 jobs in the region.
UNC alumni — with 22,878 living in Larimer or Weld counties — generate another $185.5 million in economic impact.
