Study spells out impact of Pennsylvania private, independent colleges on their communities

Pennsylvania’s 80-plus independent, private colleges and universities contributed $29 billion to the state’s economy in 2024, and confer 77,000 degrees a year, according to an annual economic impact report they commissioned.

In the report released Monday, the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Pennsylvania, or AICUP, said that its economic impact to the state for fiscal year 2024 increases to $65.6 billion if you include the teaching hospitals owned by its members, such as the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University health systems.