“Talent Dividend Tour” to focus on economic benefit, strategies for increasing number of college graduates

DeVry Inc., a global provider of educational services, announced today it is partnering with the urban leadership group CEOs for Cities to promote higher education as an engine for greater economic prosperity.

Together they will host the “Talent Dividend Tour,” convening civic, business and education leaders in six cities to discuss the economic benefits of boosting the number of local college graduates, and strategies to achieve that goal.

Each Talent Dividend event will present original research developed by CEOs for Cities that shows per capita income and college attainment rates are closely correlated. Cities that increase the number of college graduates by just one percentage point will reap major economic gains—known as the Talent Dividend.

“DeVry is pleased to be sponsoring the Talent Dividend Tour because we believe so strongly in education as a key driver of economic development,” said Daniel Hamburger, president and CEO of DeVry Inc. “Expanding college attainment is critical to our nation’s long-term economic well being and we as educators can help students at all levels succeed. Dual-enrollment programs for high school students, and flexible scheduling and online learning for working adults are the types of innovations that can help increase the number of college graduates.”

Data shows the more educated a city’s population, the more robust its economy will be. According to 2006 data, each additional percentage point improvement in aggregate adult four-year college attainment is associated with a $763 increase in annual per capita income. Raising the national median college graduate rate of the top 51 metro areas from 29.4 percent to 30.4 percent would be associated with an increase in income of $124 billion per year for the nation.

“If you want to know how well your city is doing when it comes to economic development, there is only one figure you need to know: the percentage of your population who have four-year degrees,” said Carol Coletta, president and CEO of CEOs for Cities. “The research on this is unassailable. The more talented your city, the better off it will be.