WHY IS CORPORATE SUPPORT NECESSARY FOR A STATE-FUNDED UNIVERSITY?

• Since 2001, Ohio’s funding for higher education per student has declined 24%. In 1980, the state of Ohio provided $2.14 for every dollar of tuition paid by the student. Today, the state provides $0.64 for every dollar of tuition.
  
• Ohio is facing a severe education deficit. Ohio needs over 100,000 more citizens with graduate degrees just to match the national average and nearly 250,000 additional citizens with bachelor’s degrees to meet national averages.
  
• As the state’s per capital levels of educational attainment have declined compared to national averages, so has its per capita income.
  
• 44% of WSU undergraduates are first-generation college students and 42% come from families with incomes of below $50,000.
  
• 79% of Wright State students receive some kind of financial aid. In the 2006 academic year, 15,914 Wright State students used more than $138.6 million dollars of financial aid.
  
• 65.5% of recent college graduates have student loans, with an average debt of $19,400. The average monthly loan payment is $210. The median debt burden is 6.9% of their annual income.
  

WHY IS HIGHER EDUCATION IMPORTANT TO MY BOTTOM LINE?

• In today’s knowledge economy, a college education not only improves individual prosperity, it results in a lowered dependency on government assistance, better access to health care, less involvement with the criminal justice system, and a stronger dedication to the public good.
  
• For every dollar Ohio invests in higher education, graduates with bachelor’s degrees will return to taxpayers about $1.84—just in additional tax revenues! And for every dollar spent in state support, a bachelor’s degree graduate will return $5.80 in lifetime income taxes.
  
• Higher education and an educated workforce encourage corporate relocation to Ohio.
  
• University research leads to discoveries that support economic growth, produce new jobs and spin-off enterprises that foster economic diversification, statewide competitiveness, and employment opportunities.