photo by: Contributed

The roof on Wescoe Hall has an 80-foot "KU" in this file photo from 2021.

As the value of higher education is getting doubted by everyone from potential students to state and federal politicians, the University of Kansas has released a report that contends KU adds $7.8 billion to the state’s economy.

KU leaders announced on Tuesday that the global analytics firm Lightcast had conducted a study that looks at the economic value of KU’s operations, construction projects, research ventures, the number of visitors the university draws to the state, among other metrics.

The final tally estimated that KU produces $7.8 billion of economic impact each year. The report estimated that the economic impact supports nearly 88,000 jobs, measuring both jobs that are directly tied to KU and jobs connected to third-parties that support the university or its employees.

The report found that KU, if it were its own industry — like agricultural or manufacturing, for example — it would be the 10th largest industry sector in the state

The report — which basically looked to calculate how much the state of Kansas would lose if KU and its alumni did not exist — broke down KU’s $7.8 billion economic impact in the following ways:

• $4.7 billion in spending on operations by KU and entities connected to KU;

• $52.4 million in construction spending;

• $315 million in research spending;

• $89.4 million in impacts from KU startup companies

• $86.6 million in visitor spending;

• $39 million in student spending;

• $2.5 billion in alumni impact.

The report specifically found that KU attracts more than 422,000 out-of-state visitors each year. It also found that there are 54 active startup companies created from KU research. More than half of those companies continue to be based in Kansas.

The report by Lightcast — a consulting firm that analyzes a variety of data for the education and private sectors — largely relied on fiscal year 2023 data to make its findings. It measured KU in its entirety, including the Lawrence, Johnson County, Salina and Wichita campuses, as well as the KU Medical Center and the University of Kansas Health System, which operates hospitals and medical facilities throughout the state.