College of The Albemarle exerts a significant impact on the economy of northeastern North Carolina, according to a recent study conducted by Economic Modeling Specialists, Inc. (EMSI).

COA has campuses in Pasquotank, Chowan, and Dare counties, offers classes at additional teaching locations, and is opening a fourth campus in Currituck County. The college’s service area covers seven counties with a total land area exceeding 1,700 square miles and approximately 150,000 residents. COA’s leadership has always realized that the college contributes in many ways to the region, but how much?

To answer this question, the college hired EMSI consultants to analyze population and employment data along with the college’s enrollment and budgetary data. EMSI concluded that “College of The Albemarle plays a significant role in the local economy and is a sound investment from multiple perspectives. Students benefit from improved lifestyles and increased earnings. Taxpayers benefit from a larger economy and lower social costs. Finally, the community as a whole benefits from increased job and investment opportunities, higher business revenues, greater availability of public funds, and an eased tax burden.”

Here are some examples of the college’s economic impact:
 • COA students receive a 20.6% average return on their investment.
 • The college’s operations contribute $12.8 million annually to the region.
 • State and county governments receive a 5.1% average rate of return for their financial support of the college.
 • The total economic impact is $100.3 million per year when including the dollars contributed to the economy, the savings to taxpayers, previous COA graduates’ annual earnings, and other measures of the college’s impact.

To read or download the full report for the entire college and individual reports for each campus, please visit www.albemarle.edu/economicimpact.

Dr. Eric Lovik, COA’s Director of Institutional Effectiveness, commented that “the findings from this study confirm what we've known for years, which is that COA makes a positive difference in this part of the state. College of The Albemarle is an institution dedicated to transforming lives and reshaping futures not only through its academics but also through its economic contributions.”

The study used college data from the 2009-10 academic/fiscal year, the last complete year of data available when the study began. EMSI has developed economic impact studies for many other colleges, and you can learn more about EMSI by visiting www.economicmodeling.com.