Augusta, GA — A study released by the University System of Georgia (USG) today showed its economic impact on the state of Georgia to be $11 billion in Fiscal Year 2007. Augusta’s two USG institutions, Augusta State University and the Medical College of Georgia, contributed $1.1 billion of that total to the local economy.

The study, conducted by the Selig Center for Economic Growth in the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia, concluded that $7.3 billion (66 percent) of the total economic impact was due to initial spending by institutions for salaries and fringe benefits, operating supplies and expenses, and other budgeted expenditures, as well as spending by the students who attended the institutions in FY2007. The multiplier effect of those dollars as they were re-spent in the state accounted for another $3.8 billion (34 percent).

The figures do not include spending by people who visit System campuses to attend meetings and athletic events, retirees of the University System, or income earned by System employees through consulting and other activities

“All 35 of the University System’s institutions are economic engines in their communities and the state,” said Dr. Jeffrey M. Humphreys, director of economic forecasting for the Selig Center. He found that on average, for every dollar of initial spending in a community by a USG institution, an additional 52 cents was generated for the local economy.

The study also analyzed the employment impact of the 35 institutions on their host communities. It was determined that the University System is responsible for 106,267 full- and part-time jobs—2.6 percent of all the jobs in the state or about one job in 39, according to Dr. Humphreys. He estimated that approximately 42 percent of these positions are on-campus jobs and 58 percent are positions in the private or public sectors that exist because of the presence of the USG institution. For each job created on a campus, there are 1.4 jobs that exist off-campus because of spending related to the college or university, he said. The study reported that the Medical College of Georgia and Augusta State together produce 11,000 jobs in Augusta.

“Universities and colleges are major drivers in their local economies,” said Dr. Mark Thompson, Cree Walker Professor of Economics in the Hull College of Business at Augusta State University. “These reports are always good in showing the measurable impacts that universities have on their various regions. It shows what the community gets (or can get) by partnering with its university and leveraging the intellectual capital for economic growth and development.”

The study showed that the University of Georgia, the System’s largest institution with 33,405 students, had the greatest single economic impact: $2.1 billion on the Athens area economy or 19 percent of the System’s total statewide economic impact.

Seven institutions in the metro Atlanta area—Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia State University, Clayton State University, Kennesaw State University, Southern Polytechnic State University, Atlanta Metropolitan College, and Georgia Perimeter College—accounted for 40,700 jobs and almost $4.5 billion of the System’s total.

Georgia Southern University in Statesboro had a $470 million impact and an employment impact of 5,238 jobs.

“This study demonstrates the powerful impact that the University System has on the state,” said Dr. Thompson. “Not only does the University System impact the economy, its institutions, such as Augusta State University, provide long term benefits in the way of educating our future workforce, creating cultural opportunities for our citizens, and providing volunteers for our local community.”

It has been estimated that ASU faculty and staff volunteer in more than 250 schools, civic organizations, or nonprofit agencies.

The study, which analyzed data collected between July 1, 2006 and June 30, 2007, was commissioned by the Intellectual Capital Partnership Program (ICAPP), an initiative of the USG Board of Regents’ Office of Economic Development. It updates a previous study conducted on FY2004 data that placed the University’s System’s economic impact at $9.7 billion.

The full economic impact study can be found at http://www.icapp.org/pubs/usg_impact_fy2007.pdf.

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