Detroit's Apple Developer Academy costly to taxpayers, not a runaway success

The Apple Developer Academy in Detroit apparently isn't an outright success for some, with a report painting it as an expensive project that doesn't quite live up to the job-search hype. The truth is a bit more complex.

In January 2021, Apple rolled out an expansion of its Apple Developer Academy in Detroit, as part of its Racial Equality and Justice Initiative push. Created in collaboration with Michigan State University, it was intended to provide software developer training, which could help lead participants into further employment in the field.

Almost five years after that initial announcement, an investigative report by Wired into the project examined whether it was worthwhile to taxpayers and alumni alike.

The general view by the publication is that it's an idea that could've gone a lot better for all involved. It's not clear if that assessment is accurate, though.

A high-cost operation

The course has been one with considerable investment attached to it. Almost $30 million was spent on the Apple Developer Academy over four years.

While Apple is in the name, it wasn't the only source of funds. Out of the $30 million, close to 30% of the total stemmed from what the report characterizes as Michigan taxpayers and the Michigan State University.

Apple itself is reported to have contributed about $11.6 million in the first four years of the academy's existence, or over a third of the overall cost.

Gifts were also made from the Gilbert Family Foundation, the philanthropic effort from billionaire Dan Gilbert of Quicken Loans and Rocket Mortgage. The foundation had pledged to pay $11 million towards the Apple Developer Academy over five years.

Over the four year period, the foundation's gifts and funds from the university's credit union made up $9.4 million. $2.6 million of the funds stemmed from the state and non-academy students' tuition.

There was also an extra $6 million from taxpayers, which was used to pay cost-of-living checks to participants.

Head count

With such a high expenditure, there is also the expectation that such a program would impact the lives of many students.

There was a hope that the project would assist about 1,000 students per year. Thousands of people do indeed apply to take part each year, but the actual average is allegedly a "few hundred attendees" each year for the four-week introductory program and the months-long intensive course.

The source of that data isn't clear, though.

The agreement with Apple enables up to 200 students to take part in the longer program, focused on developing apps for the App Store.

Of those, approximately 50 are invited back for a second year to learn about client relations. They go on to develop apps for local organizations, including the Detroit Historical Museum and the Michigan Black Business Alliance.

MacBooks and Stipends

Part of the high expense of the program compared to the number of active participants is down to how much actually goes out to attendees. Since it is intended for participants from a wide range of economic backgrounds, the courses are fully subsidized.

This includes handing out iPhones and MacBooks, and spending an estimated $20,000 per student. The cost is almost twice as much as the per-student budget of state and local governments for community colleges.

To be clear, this $20,000 figure is the total spent on each student on average, taking into account the funding from Apple, the foundation, and the university. The cost to the state and local governments for this element is significantly lower than the $20,000 figure.

That said, the students can also receive a stipend, which can range in value from $1,500 per month down to $800 per month. This is more directly sourced from the previously mentioned $6 million "taxpayer" fund.

Some interviewed for the report found it to be an essential addition, allowing one participant to clear their debt and move out of their parents' home. Others still had to take up side jobs to make up the shortfall.

The limited availability of free parking passes, remote working opportunities, and collaboration spaces also apparently caused problems for students.

Some effectiveness

As a project intended to bring equal opportunities to students wanting to learn to make their own apps, it does meet those goals, as jobs are being found for participants. However, there are still some complaints about how well it accomplishes this.

Approximately 70% of students graduate, which Michigan State academy leader Sarah Gretter describes as higher than typical for adult education. She says the goal for graduates is to move on to the "next step," be it a job or more courses.

Of those participants, approximately a third are under 25 years old, and most of them go on to further schooling. The average age of students are people in their thirties, with the extremes of the age range going from 18 years to one in the seventies.

Academy officials say that, over the last two years, approximately 71% of graduates moved on to full-time jobs in various industries. This is not uncommon for coding schools, which one expert says typically reach a figure below 80%.

This is consistent with other vocational training programs. Data collated by the US government puts vocational training program hiring rates at between 70% and 80%, dependent on economic conditions, and a host of other factors.

Those jobs aren't necessarily from existing employers either. It is claimed that 13 businesses were formed by alumni, with 62 apps created in the process.

Neither Apple, the university, nor the foundation officially released graduate employment data, despite it being a requirement from the foundation itself.

A continuing program

The investigative report is right to raise questions when dealing with a topic costing taxpayers millions each year. However, the resulting information and conclusions by the publication are less clear-cut about whether it is a waste of money or not.

There is a high cost per participant versus a typical course, but most of this is covered by Apple and a foundation's gifts. Taxpayer funds are being used, certainly, but it is far from the only funding source.

While not statistically significant, some informal questions we asked from taxpayers in the region suggest that they don't seem to care about the costs. The money that taxpayers contribute is a drop in the bucket to the overall tax burden in the area, and there are tangible impacts from it, versus other governmentally-funded money pits.

Apple certainly sees the benefits in operating the academies. There are multiple Apple Developer Academy locations around the world, which are helping students learn about development and achieve employment afterward.

It is almost certain that Apple will continue to open up more academies, especially in the face of the changing IT marketplace. In 2024, it expanded its core curriculum to teach students about artificial intelligence and machine learning, rightly expecting a boom in the field.