BISMARCK, N.D. - The economic impact of the North Dakota University System and its students on the state of North Dakota has risen dramatically over the past seven years and now stands at an estimated $3.1 billion for FY2006, according to a recent report by North Dakota State University's Department of Agribusiness and Applied Economics.

Titled Economic Impact of the North Dakota University System, a 2000 study looked at the University System's FY1999 financial impact on the state. Report co-authors Larry Leistritz and Randall Coon developed estimated economic impacts by using the North Dakota Input-Output Model, which applies a multiplier to NDUS expenditures. A similar study of FY2004 data was conducted, and a third study analyzing FY 2006 data now is complete.

"The University System is doing exactly what the Roundtable on Higher Education had in mind when it encouraged the development of partnerships involving the private sector, the University System, and the executive and legislative branches of government," said Eddie Dunn, NDUS chancellor. "The University System has become a powerful engine for expanding the state's economy, retaining graduates by helping create high-value employment opportunities and attracting the human capital needed for the future success of our state."

Leistritz and Coon concluded, "Institutions of higher education are a significant force in the North Dakota economy. They provide the educational opportunities necessary for a workforce that needs more technological skills and also serve as centers for local and regional economic development opportunities."

Significant report findings include:

• NDUS direct general and non-general fund expenditures injected $533 million into local economies in FY1999, $761 million in FY2004 and $828 million in FY2006, with $614 million of the $828 million coming from non-general fund sources. Much of the increased expenditures over the seven-year period came from non-general fund sources such as grants, contracts and donations.
  

• Based on the North Dakota Input-Output Model, the $828 million in expenditures resulted in an increased business activity level of $2.4 billion in FY2006, compared to $2.2 billion in FY 2004 and $1.6 billion in FY1999, a 50 percent increase over the seven-year period.
  

• Student expenditures for housing, books, supplies, transportation, etc., created an additional direct economic impact of $285 million in 2006, with a total economic impact of $707 million.
  

• Taken together, NDUS and student spending in 2006 provided a total economic impact to the state of North Dakota of $3.1 billion, based upon the multiplier effect of these direct expenditures.
  

• Retail trade sales attributed to the NDUS for FY 2006 were estimated at $598 million, and personal income generated from this level of business activity was estimated at $969 million.
  

• In addition to the 10,260 people employed by the NDUS in 2006, the level of business activity resulting from the NDUS would support more than 24,000 jobs - more than 30,000 jobs when student spending is included.
  

• In FY2006, retail trade activity ($598 million) produced an estimated $27.7 million in additional sales and use tax revenues, while the increased personal income ($969 million) generated an estimated $14.5 million in additional personal income tax collections.