5 Investment analysis An investment analysis evaluates the costs associated with a proposed venture against its expected benefits. If the benefits outweigh the costs, then the investment is financially worthwhile. The analysis presented here evaluates SUNYWCC as an investment from the perspectives of students, taxpayers, and society in New York. Student perspective In FY 2021-22, SUNYWCC served 15,417 credit and 6,943 non-credit students. In order to attend the college, the students paid for tuition, fees, books, and supplies. They also took out loans and will incur interest on those loans. Additionally, students gave up money they would have otherwise earned had they been working instead of attending college. The total investment made by SUNY WCC’s students in FY 2021-22 amounted to a present value of $48.1 million, equal to $32.5 million in out-of-pocket expenses (including future principal and interest on student loans) and $15.6 million in forgone time and money. In return for their investment, SUNY WCC’s students will receive a stream of higher future earnings that will continue to grow throughout their working lives. For example, the average SUNY WCC associate degree graduate from FY 2021-22 will see annual earnings that are $9,600 higher than a person with a high school diploma or equivalent working in New York. Over a working lifetime, the benefits of the associate degree over a high school diploma will amount to an undiscounted value of $384 thousand in higher earnings per graduate. The present value of the cumulative higher future earnings that SUNY WCC’s FY 2021-22 students will receive over their working careers is $195.9 million. The students’ benefit-cost ratio is 4.1. In other words, for every dollar students invest in SUNY WCC in the form of out-of-pocket expenses and forgone time and money, they will receive a cumulative value of $4.10 in higher future earnings. Annually, the students’ investment in SUNY WCC has an average annual internal rate of return of Investment analysis Source: Lightcast employment data. The average associate degree graduate from SUNY WCC will see an increase in earnings of $9,600 each year compared to a person with a high school diploma or equivalent working in New York. 43 + 55 + 61 + 70 + 100 < High school High school Certificate Associate Bachelor's $29,800 $37,900 $41,300 $47,500 $72,200 Students see a high rate of return for their investment in SUNY WCC Source: Forbes’ S&P 500, 1992-2021. FDIC.gov, 2-2022. Interest earned on savings account (National Rate Cap) Average annual return for SUNY WCC students Stock market 30-year average annual return 37 + 21 + 2 0.4% 16.4% 9.6%
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