Arkansas ‘Economic security report’ provides cost and earnings info on Arkansas degree programs

As part of Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s moves to bulk up the state’s workforce to meet industry needs, the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services (DWS) released an economic security report of employment and earnings outcomes for degrees and certificates at state-supported institutions of higher education.

The 94-page report, produced as a result of Act 852 of 2015 sponsored by Sen. Alan Clark, R-Hot Springs, confirms anecdotal and other similar data that college students with higher degrees make more than their counterparts entering the workplace although the costs to attend institutions of higher learning have doubled over the last decade.

The report uses data available to the DWS and the Arkansas Department of Higher Education to provide earnings information for Arkansas degree and certificate programs, average student loan debt by degree or certificate program, and employment rates for graduates in the year after they complete their certificate or degree program.

“The Arkansas Department of Workforce Services is excited about this new opportunity to educate students about the employment and earnings potential of Arkansas’s degree and certificate programs,” said DWS Director Daryl Bassett. “With this information in hand, our young people can make better decisions about their chosen career field.”

Annually beginning on July 1, 2016, all two- and four-year state-supported institutions of higher education shall provide enrolled students with electronic access to the economic security report prepared by DWS before the student registers for classes.

DWS spokesman Steven Guntharp said future reports will also provide an annual snapshot of what jobs Arkansas students are seeking in industry after they complete their degree and certificate programs at a state college or technical school.

In addition to the report, two- and four-year state-supported institutions of higher education must also provide students with the top twenty-five percent (25%) of certifications and degree programs in terms of the highest full-time job placement and highest average annual earnings; and the bottom ten percent (10%) of certificates and degree programs in terms of the lowest full-time job placement and lowest average annual earnings.

In this year’s 94-page report, state workforce officials confirms that college students in Arkansas with higher degrees make much more in first-year earnings that other categories. For example, college dropout makes on average about $12,000 in their first year after entering the workforce while a law or medical school graduate makes more than $63,000 in their first year of work.

Those students graduating with a certificate, technical and associate degree make on average $18,209, $24,100 and $29,400, respectively. The school student entering the work field with a bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degree see annual salaries of $29,400, $58.400 and $63,100, respectively.

The report also offers a 10-year difference in the average debt for Arkansas bachelor’s program graduates. In 2004, the average debt after graduation for most Arkansas students was about $16,400. In 2014, that debt had risen by 54.5% to $25,344, the report shows.

In addition, the report provides parents with a snapshot of estimated costs in tuition and fees for Arkansas students after high school. The costs range from $4,000 for parents paying the tab for a college dropout and those seeking a work certificate up to $85,000 for doctoral program students and expenses of $65,000 to $150,000 for those seeking to enter law or medical school.

Beginning Aug. 1, 2016, all public school students in grades seven through 12, or their parent/guardian, shall receive a two-page summary and electronic access to the economic security report produced by the Department.

Link here for a PDF version of the DWS Economic Security Report.