New Wiregrass campus expected to enhance those impacts
By B.C. Manion
A recent study put Pasco-Hernando Community College’s economic impact in its two-county service area at more than $240 million.
And that’s even before the college’s newest campus opens – which undoubtedly will also have a positive effect on the local economy, said John Hagen, president and CEO of the Pasco Economic Development Council, Inc.
When the new Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch opens, expected in January 2014, the area will have another drawing card to attract new development nearby, Hagen said.
“I’m really excited about that,” Hagen said. “I think it’s going to be their flagship campus. It definitely makes the area more attractive.”
The Porter campus, under construction at SR 56 and Mansfield Boulevard, is directly across from the site where Raymond James is expected to develop a large office park.
It’s also near Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel, the Shops at Wiregrass and a host of other developments that are planned or are under way in the SR 54/SR 56 corridor, Interstate 75 and Bruce B. Downs Boulevard.
“We are on the cusp of something great in this area,” said Jeff Miller, chairman of the Economic Development Committee for the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce.
Besides the construction now under way, efforts are also being made to gain approval for two bachelor’s program at the campus, at SR 56 and Mansfield Boulevard.
The college is on the path toward approvals for a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) and a Bachelor of Applied Science.
That’s good news, Miller said.
“They’re graduating to that next level,” Miller said. With the four-year programs, students living in Wesley Chapel will have the opportunity to attend prekindergarten through college without having to leave the community, he noted.
The economic impact study, done by a company called Economic Modeling Specialists, Inc. (EMSI), was based on its payroll and operations spending, as well as the accumulated economic impact the college’s graduates have had on the local economy.
Figures contained in the report were based on staffing levels for the 2011-12 reporting year, at which time they had 389 full-time employees and 336 part-time faculty and staff. The college spent approximately $31.7 million a year on salaries, services and supplies.
EMSI conducted the study on behalf of the 28 colleges within the Florida College System.
Since PHCC began, it has awarded more than 32,000 degrees and certificates, according to the EMSI study.
The economic impact of graduates in a 29-year period takes into consideration increased earning potential and increased output of business.
The study reports that every dollar spent on tuition today will increase a student’s future income by $6.40, which translates into a 16.7 percent return on investment of time and money for PHCC students.
Associate degree holders earn $8,200 more per year, on average, over the course of their working life, as compared to someone with a high school diploma, the report says.
For Florida taxpayers, the rate of return on their investment in PHCC is 7.7 percent, outperforming the return on nearly all private investment categories, the report says.
PHCC has campuses in Brooksville, Dade City, New Port Richey and Spring Hill.
Data used in EMSI’s report includes, but is not limited to 2011-12 academic and financial reports from the college, industry and employment data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and earnings and demographic data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
