Chancellor's Office

An Annual $2 Billion Economic Engine for the State

Economic news relating to the global economic downturn will be a prominent feature in almost every annual report that is produced for organizations across every industry. New Hampshire was certainly not immune to this downturn, nor was the University System of New Hampshire. However, higher education can be, and often is, an economic stabilizer in weaker economic times because of the positive and consistent impact it has in terms of its ability to generate revenue, produce skilled workers, and support campus communities and local economies.

During FY09, USNH worked to quantify the positive impact it has as one way to demonstrate the value of a high quality public university system in terms of its role as an economic engine for the state. The FY09 Annual Report opens with an overview of the findings of this study and the overall $2 billion impact USNH makes in New Hampshire each year.

In terms of overall population, New Hampshire ranks 41st out of the 50 states with just over 1.3 million residents, according to 2008 U.S. Census Bureau data. Despite its small population and physical size, Census Bureau data also shows that the residents of New Hampshire are among the nation’s most educated, with the fourth highest percentage holding at least a bachelor’s degree. As a result, per capita income is the eighth highest nationally, demonstrating that intellectual capital is an essential economic driver for the state.

Having an accessible, robust state university system clearly benefits the residents of New Hampshire. The more than 31,000 students who enroll at USNH institutions annually are well aware that those who earn four-year degrees will enable them to, on average, earn over $1 million more over their working lives than those who do not continue their education after high school.

Currently, the four USNH institutions award over 50 percent of the four-year baccalaureate degrees in the state each year and more than 70 percent of the degrees in education, engineering, and liberal arts and science. Slightly over half of these graduates remain and work in New Hampshire, while many others who initially leave the state eventually return and contribute to the economy later in their lives and careers. The economic impact of these graduates and of the institutions themselves is significant, accounting for nearly 4 percent of the state’s $51 billion gross state product.

A study of the economic influence of all four institutions completed during FY09 concluded that USNH’s overall annual impact on the state is about $2 billion. Of this total, $1.1 billion is through its expenditures, employment, and revenue generation through personal employee and student expenditures, and over $890 million is through the skilled workers that graduate annually and remain in the state. The study was conducted for USNH by Dr. Ross Gittell, a professor with the University of New Hampshire’s Whittemore School of Business and Economics.

Some additional conclusions from the research included the following:

USNH institutions are anchors and stabilizing forces in the New Hampshire economy.
Unemployment rates of college graduates are less than one-half of the overall rate.
The economic impact of USNH institutions is deep (economically significant) as well as wide (across the state).
USNH’s main product—educated residents, workers, and business owners—is the foundation of the state’s economic recovery and future economic competitiveness.
USNH institutions provide a consistently high return on investment for the state and its residents.

In addition to economic data, the report also included results from a survey of the state’s business community. The survey was designed to determine the perceived economic importance of USNH to corporations in the state. Some highlights include:

Over three-quarters of the company responders said that USNH institutions played an important role in providing their companies with access to a skilled workforce.
One-quarter of companies responding had ten or more graduates from the University of New Hampshire as employees.
Over 40 percent hired at least one graduate from a USNH institution last year.
Over one-third had an intern from a USNH institution in the past year.
In a separate survey of 600 UNH alumni in the state, 20 percent indicated that they owned a business in New Hampshire.

In summary, USNH plays a key role in advancing and supporting the state’s economy. When comparing the relative impact through its expenditures, employment, and revenue generation, USNH accounts for a greater percentage of the gross domestic product than the University of Texas System in Texas, Harvard University in Massachusetts, and the University of Massachusetts.

Supporting the USNH Fourfold Vision Beyond economic issues, this annual report cites several other actions and accomplishments that support our fourfold vision, which is to be:

The annual report looks back over the 2008-09 fiscal year (FY09) to review how these accomplishments have impacted the state, and provides a detailed overview of key financial data from FY09. These accomplishments are described in the next section of the report under each component of this vision.