Michigan's research universities keep more students in the state after graduation, study says

Students who attend one of Michigan's three research universities in the University Research Corridor are more likely to live in the state after graduation than students who don't attend one of the schools, according to a study released last week.
The University Research Corridor — which consists of Michigan State University, University of Michigan and Wayne State University — also ranks at or near the top of many of its peer university clusters, including famous ones in Massachusetts, North Carolina, California and Texas.
The study done by the East Lansing-based Anderson Economic Group calls the three schools "one of the nation's top academic research clusters" and a main driver for jobs and innovation in the state. Patrick Anderson, founder of the group, said the report proves the intuitive feelings of university leaders.
"We're really happy to see the data showing what we knew but were never able to document before," he said.
According to the report, the URC ranks first in enrollment, first in degrees awarded, second in advanced degrees in high-tech fields and first in medical degrees among eight similar research university clusters.
The three universities account for 93 percent of all academic research being done in the state and are responsible for about $16.8 billion in economic activity in Michigan.
But, one of the more surprising aspects of the report is just how many students from these three universities actually stay in Michigan, or return to the state.
The report stated in-state and out-of-state students alike were 60 percent more likely to live in Michigan 10 years after graduation and 19 percent more likely to live in Michigan a year after graduation than students who didn't graduate from one of the three schools.
According to the report, the University Research Corridor ranked first among six other university clusters for keeping in-state graduates in the state of Michigan.
University of Michigan President Mark Schlissel said his school's reputation of educating out-of-state students and then sending them to the east and west coasts of the country simply isn't true.
"Even the ones that leave take a little bit of Michigan with them," he said. "Often they'll come back later, they'll hire people from Michigan, they'll move businesses to Michigan, they'll invest in Michigan. I think it helps project the state's personality across the country and across the world."
The three universities have nearly 1.2 million alumni around the world between them and more than half of them — 617,000 — live in Michigan. That amounts to 34 percent of the state's population with a bachelor's degree or higher level of education.
Michigan State University President Lou Anna K. Simon said the universities play a key role in attracting young people to Michigan. Due to declining birth rates, the state is producing less children than in previous years so it's necessary to bring out-of-state students into Michigan and keep them here.