Recent Alumni Career Outcomes: Income & Student Debt by Program
FAQ:
Where can I find a copy of the legislation that mandates this dashboard?
The legislation was listed as House File 135 in 2023. A copy can be found here.
Who receives a link to this information?
Every year, Iowa State, the University of Iowa, and the University of Northern Iowa will send this information to new undergraduate students before the end of their first year.
What are the sources of the data shown in the dashboard?
- Wage data comes from the U.S. Census Bureau's Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) program that matches to national Unemployment Insurance wage data
- Data on debt comes from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard reports. It represents debt for students who graduated with debt and took on Federal student loans.
- The percent of students earning a graduate degree comes from National Student Clearinghouse data. It shows which percent of graduates earned a Master's or doctoral degree within 10 years of earning a bachelor's degree
- Why are there differences in salary for the same major at different universities?
- Most of the differences in salary will be due to a) differences in the content or emphasis of the major at each university and b) the geographic location of employment. For example, if half the Finance graduates from the University of Iowa took jobs in New York City, where incomes are higher due to higher cost of living, we would expect median incomes for those graduates to be higher.
Do the income values show Iowa wages?
No, they show national wage but Iowa wages are included in the data. Incomes are median values for all graduates regardless of where they are employed in the United States.
Why does the dashboard use median income and median debt?
The median, or 50th percentile, of income and debt is used because it doesn't include extreme examples and therefore represents a more typical value.
Who determines the value of a "Typical Monthly Federal Student Loan Payment"?
The typical payment value is determined by the U.S. Department of Education based on a 10 year loan repayment and recent interest rates.
Is this data available for other colleges and universities in Iowa?
Currently only the Iowa public universities report this data.
How often will the dashboard be updated?
Data for the dashboard will be updated annually in July.