by a third party which are not expected to be reimbursed by the students (Military funding, Corporate funding, Pell Grants, etc.). • Earnings Growth: Salary increase based on income prior to enrollment to approximately two years post-graduation. • Return: Post-graduation earnings. The targets are based on internal data collected by our data reporting team to determine what our graduates’ out-of-pocket costs look like across a variety of factors and on alumni survey data that indicates self-reported salary on the 21-month alumni survey to measure post-graduation earnings and earnings growth. The decision to use the 21-month alumni survey as a means of data collection was based on two years being a reasonable amount of time to allow for a student’s degree to influence earnings, yet not so far out that we would not be able to determine goal achievement until well into the future. The data collected indicated that for BA/BS students who completed degrees between 7/1/2020 and 8/9/2021, the median salary at approximately two years post-graduation was 3.7x their out-of-pocket costs. For that same time period, alumni reported a median salary growth of 21 percent. (Note: Median is the preferred measure because it offers a robust representation of central tendency and is less influenced by outliers.) Given the consideration of external economic factors, rising costs, and changing attributes of the UAGC student population (such as the number of transfer credits, payment options, etc.), the recommendation was made to set targets in alignment with current economic return data and hold steady to those values over the next five years. Achieving the Targets There are three primary levers with which we can influence the achievement of this goal: out-of-pocket costs, direct student costs, and optimization of programs and career services. By controlling out-of-pocket costs, we can maintain stability and transparency for students when it comes to the cost of their education. Efforts are already being made in this area with the launch of Tuition Simplification on 2/26/2024, which reduced catalog tuition rates and strategically modified institutional grants and benefits. Out-of-pocket costs can also be controlled through friendly transfer credit policies, which reduce the number of credits a student may need to complete a degree at UAGC, and increased external scholarship awareness, which offers students opportunities for funding that does not need to be repaid. Direct student costs include those costs that students incur outside of the cost of tuition, such as the cost of learning materials and books. Considerable efforts are being made by the UAGC Learning Resources team, faculty, and Library team to source quality educational materials at minimal cost to our students. Additionally, lowering direct student costs reduces economic disparity and unintended barriers to education that can be created by high and variable fees.
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