December 2011

Northeast Ohio adds more college degrees than San Francisco and Boston combined
Adding 41,634 degrees increased the region's economy by more than $4 billion in personal income in one year, highlighting the link between talent development and economic prosperity.  Click here to view this and other metrics used to measure the Northeast Ohio Talent Dividend. 

OSU President Dr. Gordon Gee underscores the importance of talent development and institutional adaptability at the Northeast Ohio Talent Dividend Summit
On Friday, December 16, 2011, more than 100 education, civic, and business leaders joined NOCHE at Corporate College East to learn about the continued success of the Northeast Ohio Talent Dividend.  Dr. Gee's remarks challenged the audience to embrace change in higher education in the 21st century and be adaptable to evolving economic realities. Dr. Mark Sniderman of the Federal Reserve Bank in Cleveland highlighted the importance of a college educated workforce to a region's prosperity.  Photographs and presentations of the Summit are available by clicking here.  

Distributed at the Summit, the 2011 Northeast Ohio Talent Dividend Annual Report showcases efforts to increase college completion at The University of Akron, Kent State University, the Stark Education Partnership, the Lake/Geauga Educational Assistance Foundation, REACHigher, the Eastern Ohio P-16 Partnership for Education, and the Higher Education Compact of Greater Cleveland. Highlighting the importance of college completion, the report also shares comparative national data on college degree attainment rates.  Click here to download a copy (opens as a pdf). 

College is affordable
NOCHE Executive Director Ann Womer Benjamin's opinion piece on college affordability appeared in the employment section of the Plain Dealer on Wednesday, December 7, 2011. The article on college costs and financial aid offers advice to readers who are worried about paying for college. To read the article, click here. 

On Wednesday, January 11, 2012, from 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m., Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson, Cleveland Metropolitan School District CEO Eric Gordon and the Higher Education Compact of Greater Cleveland will officially launch Financial Aid Awareness Month.  This initiative will help Greater Cleveland students take their first step toward financing their college education.  Contact Elizabeth Day at eday@collegenowgc.org for more information.   

Stark State College and Malone University will join together to share insight into different ways to fund a college education. The meeting will take place from 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. on January 12, 2012 at Stark State College's Business and Entrepreneurial Studies Center. Those interested in attending should contact U.S. Representative Jim Renacci's office at 330-489-4414.

Collaboration is key to a brighter future
On December 12, 2011, NOCHE Executive Director Ann Womer Benjamin and Associate Director Shawn Brown presented at the 2011 OASFAA/OCAN Conference about leading regional collaboration using the Northeast Ohio Talent Dividend as a case study of collective impact. 

Fresh on the heels of NOCHE's Talent Dividend report, Joe Roman, President and CEO of the Greater Cleveland Partnership, recently editorialized in the Plain Dealer regarding the need for Northeast Ohio to join together as a region to  "[become] known for an educated and skilled work force." Read the editorial here.  
  
The extraordinary economic value of universities
A recent article from Atlantic Cities, an initiative of The Atlantic Monthly, notes the link between universities and economic competitiveness.  As a region with a high concentration of higher education institutions, the article emphasizes the positive relationship between that concentration and economic competitiveness. Read the entire article here.   

Wages and educational attainment by occupation cluster
The Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce published a report forecasting demand for high school through college jobs through 2018. This chart, taken from the Career Clusters report (download the entire report by clicking here), shows average salary within industry clusters by degree attainment. This chart shows that both education level and occupation choice influence average salaries. 

Source - Georgetown Center for Education and the Workforce, 2011

Happy New Year
All of us at NOCHE offer best wishes for a prosperous New Year. This past year proved to be a banner year for college completion and we are looking forward to what 2012 will bring. 

Get involved
Connect with us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/noche.org. 
Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/talentdividend.
For more information, contact Patrick Britton at 216-420-9200 ext. 234 or pbritton@noche.org.