News Release

Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College hosted the Bell County Chamber of Commerce’s Lunch and Learn series Friday at its Middlesboro Campus.

In her opening remarks, Dr. Jennifer Lindon, acting president of SKCTC, shared the College’s current enrollment trends as well as recent findings from an independent economic impact study.

Dr. Lindon announced that the college is seeing a year-to-date enrollment increase of 16%; Southeast is one of only three KCTCS colleges experiencing growth above 10%. In addition, SKCTC leads KCTCS with an 18.3% increase in tuition and fee revenue.

The impact report determined that SKCTC added $96.2 million in annual income to the region’s economy during fiscal year 2022-2023, a value approximately equal to 4.1% of the gross regional product. Moreover, the College supported more than 1,635 jobs.

“SKCTC not only impacts the lives of our students, but also the economic health of our business partners, taxpayers, and the region’s economy,” said Dr. Lindon. “As this report makes abundantly clear, SKCTC significantly increases our graduates’ lifetime earnings and generates higher tax dollars which, in turn, strengthens our communities and builds lives throughout Southeastern Kentucky.”

The study concluded that students will receive a present value of $72.3 million in increased earnings over their working lives. In other words, for every $1 dollar invested, SKCTC students earned an additional $5.10 in lifetime earnings (nearly $10,000 annually).

The comprehensive report was conducted by Lightcast, a well-respected labor market analytics firm. The report drew from a wide range of sources, including academic and financial reports from all KCTCS colleges, and pertinent industry and employment data from sources such as the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and Census Bureau.