College Futures Foundation’s new report, California College Programs That Pay: Measuring Return on Investment Across Majors and Credentials, provides fresh insight into just how long it takes graduates to recoup higher education costs by specific programs of study at institutions across California. Lead author and researcher of the report, Michael Itzkowitz of the HEA Group examined over 260,000 graduates across 2,695 undergraduate certificate, associate, and bachelor’s degree programs offered at 324 institutions within California.

Across all California programs, 9 of 10 allow graduates to recoup their educational costs in 5 years or less. Of those examined, 12% of college programs within California show their graduates taking five years or longer to recoup their out-of-pocket costs; there are 112 programs where learners do not see any ROI.

The California College Programs That Pay report follows the foundation’s initial report published last spring on institutions’ ROI for low- and moderate-income learners–laying the groundwork for critical ROI discussions across California. This follow-up report builds on that foundation, offering more nuanced data to further inform ongoing conversations about the value of higher education.

At College Futures Foundation, we are deeply committed to creating opportunities that elevate economic mobility for learners who are underserved. We believe that learners deserve access to information to make informed decisions and that institutions need to be transparent about how their programs deliver on the promise of economic mobility. We invite you to absorb what the data shows and move toward healthy dialogue around change and improvement for creating a postsecondary system that supports a strong, inclusive economy in California.

Download the California College Programs That Pay Report

Download the California College Programs That Pay Key Findings Document

Download the Golden Opportunities California Program Level Database Used for the Report

(If you have any questions regarding this data, please contact Michael Itzkowitz of the HEA Group.)

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This report is part of a series that includes another report and dataset measuring ROI for low- and moderate-income learners across California education institutions.