Student Economic Impact

College of Education Students' Annual Economic Impact to Iowa Reaches over $4 Million

Just how valuable are University of Iowa College of Education students?

We tallied the number of hours our students serve as interns, student teachers, and volunteers and estimate that they give our state and beyond more than 160,000 hours of their time in an average year. When we multiply that number by the average starting salary, it comes to a staggering value of more than $4.1 million per year.

Counseling Psychology Professor William Ming Liu pointed out that his students actually give even more than the 6,558 consulting and direct contact hours he reported.

“Typically, our students are also engaged in one-hour per week of volunteer service in some helping professional setting,” he said.

Susan Lagos Lavenz, associate dean for Teacher Education, said there’s no doubt College of Education students provide a positive economic impact by spending time with children in Iowa schools.

“Our students serve as another caring, professional adult in the classroom. But there are other benefits as well,” she said. “By providing our students a cutting-edge preparation program, we are also assisting teachers and helping in their professional development. Our students bring new ideas and provide teachers the opportunity to practice their own skills by being mentors.”