Now retired, Mark James served as chancellor of Metropolitan Community College (MCC) in Kansas City, Missouri. During his seven-year tenure as chancellor of Metropolitan Community College, Mark James steered the institution through the tough economic recession, ensuring the college continued to offer high-quality education to students while positively impacting the lives of Kansas City residents.
In 2014, Economic Modeling Specialists Intl. (EMSI) published a report on the economic impact of MCC on Kansas City. The report, titled Metropolitan Community College- Kansas City’s Economic Impact, used labor market data to show the connection between the MCC economy and the surrounding community. Here are a few takeaways from the report:
- Because of the community’s investment in MCC, the cost of tuition at the institution is one-third that of public universities. It is also lower than at technical colleges.
- For every dollar MCC students invest in the institution, they get $4.40 back in higher wages in the future. In addition, because 96 percent of the institution’s graduate students find work locally, the education they receive translates to $837 million in increased regional income annually.
- MCC students who graduate with associate degrees in nursing, engineering, computer networking, and industrial technology have a starting salary of between $45,000 and $65,000 a year.
