Issues make it challenging to hire faculty, attract students
According to data gathered and reported to the District Governing Board in November by Tom Hughes, Director of Institutional Effectiveness and Research, the Community College is facing a problem of attracting faculty and students in part because of the high cost of housing in the County and low household income. The combination presents significant headwinds negatively affecting student and labor force recruitment.
Yavapai County’s median household income of 48.3 thousand dollars is 5.2 thousand below the Arizona median household income and 9.4 thousand below the national median. The following graph, presented by Mr. Hughes to the Governing Board, shows the difference in median income.
The Phoenix area is almost 11 percent less expensive than the Prescott-Prescott Valley region. The primary driving factor is housing costs. As the graph below, presented to the Governing Board shows, housing in this area is much more expensive than in Phoenix.
You may view Mr. Hughes comments about housing and the income made to the Governing Board in the video below.