Pennsylvania’s Independent Colleges Improve Everyday Life

4 minutes reading time

Thomas P. Foley
| Special to the USA TODAY Network

Unless you’re in college right now, it might not seem like college has much of an impact on you. Would you believe me if I told you that your daily routines are actually shaped by Pennsylvania’s independent, nonprofit colleges?

If you’re using Wi-Fi right now to read this sentence online, if you’re using a hashtag (#) to share this story, or if you’ve ever used Google, Netflix, Airbnb, Instagram, Spotify, Uber, or LinkedIn — all of which run on Java computer code — you can thank the alumni of one of Pennsylvania’s 85 independent, nonprofit colleges and universities. That’s in addition to the vibrant economic energy of these schools that employ your neighbor and keep the store down the street afloat.

As a former Pennsylvania Secretary of Labor and Industry and president of a Pennsylvania college, and currently president of the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Pennsylvania, or AICUP, I know firsthand that these schools produce great work every day that benefits all Pennsylvanians. The “wealth of knowledge” that college provides also translates into financial wealth, both for individuals and for the community as a whole.

Here are four supporting facts I’d like to share with you:

• Pennsylvania is a top destination for students who leave their home state to study with us—the second in the nation, to be exact. The majority of those students come here to attend one of the state’s 85 independent, nonprofit colleges and universities.
• Pennsylvania has reversed the tide of the brain drain and has become a net brain gain state, with a 51% increase in the number of college graduates coming to our state in 2023 alone.
• More than 1 in 10 American Nobel laureates are affiliated with Pennsylvania’s independent, nonprofit colleges and universities, boosting our economy in what’s known as the “spillover effect.” In fact, the school that produces the most billionaire alumni in the world isn’t Harvard or Stanford, but a university right here in Pennsylvania.
• Independent, nonprofit colleges contribute $24 billion to Pennsylvania’s economy each year, which is comparable to the GDP of nearly half the world’s countries. These schools have an even greater impact on our daily lives through research and innovation that truly moves the curve of economic opportunity, creating new wealth, new jobs, and new opportunities.

Magnet for talent

Pennsylvania has the second highest positive net migration of students in the United States, attracting both out-of-state and international students who want to study here. Counterintuitively, the federal government describes these incoming students as an economic “export” because their spending by studying here is a net benefit to the local community. Independent schools lead the industry in attracting out-of-state students to Pennsylvania, and in fact, we enroll 2 out of 3 of all out-of-state first-year students who study in Pennsylvania. Every one of these out-of-state students is a potential future resident.

From brain drain to brain gain

Pennsylvania has long struggled with population fluctuations, particularly as college-educated residents seek opportunities elsewhere. A “brain drain” is problematic because it can deepen political divisions and even lead to cultural and civic losses, as “those left behind may struggle to support churches, police sports leagues, parent-teacher associations and local businesses.”

Things are starting to change for the better. A 2024 study covered by multiple news platforms across the country found that PA now ranks among the top 8 states for net gains in college graduates moving to the state, a 51% gain in that demographic in 2023 alone. So while Pennsylvania still has work to do to stem the outbound tide, as certain counties continue to lose population, know that Pennsylvania’s independent colleges are doing their part to attract talent.

1 in 10 American Nobel Prize winners

More than 1 in 10 American Nobel laureates are affiliated with an AICUP school — 66 of the 409 American laureates, or 16 percent, an outrageous percentage considering that Pennsylvania’s population of 13 million is less than 4 percent of the U.S. population of 334 million. While the Nobel Prize is just one of many possible indicators of achievement, it is nonetheless an important metric for measuring the recognized talent and innovation in a given ecosystem.

Wealth of knowledge

Why should it matter if there are more college-educated residents in your community, let alone Nobel Prize-winning residents? Because it diversifies our economy and expands the labor pool for companies that need skilled workers. There is a well-researched correlation between education and wealth creation, not only at the micro level but also at the macro level. Having an anchor university in your community benefits all of your neighbors, regardless of whether they have a college degree or not. This is known as a “knowledge spillover,” which is a multiplier effect and a benefit to the local economy that gives local companies access to “key knowledge resources to introduce innovations faster than rival companies elsewhere.”

A study in the journal Nature published in April 2024 found that “higher-educated populations had a significantly positive impact on GDP growth.” And a better-educated workforce helps make a region more prosperous, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis: “Wealthy countries tend to have the best-educated workforces.” You might also be surprised to learn that the school that produces the most billionaire alumni in the world isn’t Harvard or Stanford, but a university right here in Pennsylvania that has produced 19 billionaires.

Higher education helps us all do more with less. Consider America, which represents only 4% of the world’s population, yet still accounts for 27% of the world’s economy (the world’s highest GDP at $29 trillion), 45% of all Nobel laureates, and is home to 65% of the world’s top 20 ranked universities. In other words, the U.S. is a wealthy country because of its colleges, not in spite of them.

Pennsylvania’s Economic Partner

For context, consider the size and impact of Pennsylvania’s 85 independent, nonprofit colleges and universities. We educate more than 275,000 students annually, the largest sector of higher education in the state, accounting for 52% of all four-year students pursuing degrees in Pennsylvania. 200,000 jobs, or about 1 in every 32 jobs in PA, are supported in whole or in part by our schools, and AICUP member schools are the largest employer in 3 counties, among the top 10 employers in 14 counties, and among the top 25 employers in 20 counties. Higher education has been called the “5th largest industry” in Pennsylvania (and AICUP schools represent more than half of that sector). These schools contribute $24 billion annually to the state’s economy, a figure that rivals the GDP of nearly half the world’s economies.

Despite the oft-repeated narrative that “college isn’t worth it,” the truth is that by 2031, 72% of jobs in the U.S. will require postsecondary education and/or training. We’re committed to educating tomorrow’s workforce, and AICUP member schools already account for 69% of all nursing degrees (76% of minority nurses), 45% of all teacher certification candidates, and 55% of all STEM degrees (“Science, Technology, Engineering, Math”) in Pennsylvania.

I hope I’ve helped you recognize some of the many benefits and contributions of Pennsylvania’s independent, nonprofit colleges and universities. We will continue to push the curve and create new possibilities for tomorrow’s economy in our labs, startup accelerators, classrooms, and communities.

Thomas P. Foley is president of the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Pennsylvania.