Research conducted by Richey Piiparinen, Director of Urban Theory and Analytics at the Levin College of Public Affairs and Education, was recently featured by Signal Cleveland. The article, based on a recent report by Piiparinen, "Where are Graduates of Select Cuyahoga County's Higher Ed Schools Going After Graduation,” looks at whether graduates of public universities stayed in Ohio five years post-grad.

According to the report, "In today's economy, college graduates act as a supply-side factor in the retention and attraction of firms. College graduates, through R&D and entrepreneurship, also act as a demand-side factor in the creation of start-up firms that, in turn, fuel job growth.” In Cuyahoga County, the PSEO tracks retention for two public colleges and institutions: Cleveland State University, and Cuyahoga Community College.”

The study finds that 82% of Cleveland State graduates with a bachelor's degree remained in Ohio 5 years after graduation. The retention rate for those graduating with a Master's degree was 78%, and 81% of those graduating with a Doctorate remained in the region. Eighty nine percent (89%) of Cuyahoga Community College graduates with an Associate's degree remained in Ohio 5 years after graduation. Results show that retention rates are high in Ohio's big-city community colleges, likely because they act as a robust pipeline into larger local labor markets and/or Ohio's big-city bachelor-granting institutions, such as Cleveland State.