COC ranked No. 14 statewide for ROI among 300-plus community colleges

News release

College of the Canyons ranks No. 14 statewide in a new return on investment analysis of 327 California community colleges and certificate-granting institutions by the College Futures Foundation and the HEA Group. 

Among 25 L.A. County community colleges, COC ranks first in the Northern L.A. region, with students recouping their out-of-pocket costs in just 0.3 years and earning a median salary of $49,022 a decade after enrollment — $16,546 more than the typical high school graduate. 

“We are proud to be recognized among the top California community colleges that are driving economic mobility for our students,” COC Interim Superintendent/President David C. Andrus said in a news release. “It’s a testament to the value of a COC education and our commitment to providing high-quality programs that deliver real, measurable returns for our students and our community.” 

The report, “Golden Returns: A Regional Look at the ROI of California’s Community and Career Colleges,” used a price-to-earnings premium metric to measure how quickly students recover their educational costs, based on net price and median earnings 10 years after enrollment. 

The data also echoed the recent findings of “The Economic Value of the California Community Colleges System” report, which revealed that California community college students who graduate with an associate degree earn $11,300 more each year, or just under $486,000 over a working lifetime, compared to those with high school diplomas working in California. 

College Futures Foundation President and CEO Eloy Ortiz Oakley noted that the aim of Golden Returns is both to provide learners with accessible, actionable information about which colleges deliver real upward mobility and to give institutions a clear view of the economic value they are or aren’t delivering. 

“How institutions absorb this data and apply it to improve value for learners will give them a foundation to build from, especially as accountability takes center stage,” Oakley, who previously served as chancellor of the California Community Colleges, said in the COC release. “While we support the overall intent of accountability, our priority is ensuring that the new framework is implemented in a way that doesn’t create new barriers for California learners.” 

Among the report’s key findings is that public colleges are significantly more likely to offer a strong ROI than private nonprofit or for-profit institutions, the release said. Data revealed that 40% of public institutions allow students to recoup costs within a year, compared to just 5% of private institutions. 

To view the full report, go to collegefutures.org/golden-returns-2-year-ROI. 

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