Report details impact of career colleges

A recent national report indicates that career colleges-for-profit institutions of higher education have a $129.6 million economic impact in Utah annually.

The report, titled "Economic Impact of America's Career Colleges," indicates that in 2005, 32 career colleges in Utah employed 1,885 staff and faculty and produced 4,410 students completing higher education programs. It also indicated that, on average, students with some post-secondary education earn $2,600 more per year than high school graduates.

Career colleges currently represent 63 percent of all higher education institutions in the state, according to the report.

The report was compiled by JBL Associates and Hoke Wilson using data from the U.S. Department of Education, the National Center for Education Statistics, the Department of Labor and the Bureau of Economic Analysis. It was released by the Imagine America Foundation, the nonprofit affiliate of the Career College Association.