New Online Tool Showcases Value Of Community College Education
Salary Surfer database shows how graduates of San Bernardino Valley College and students from all 112 campuses of California’s Community Colleges earn more after receiving a certificate or degree.
Released today by the California Community College Chancellor’s Office, the new Salary
Surfer database is a groundbreaking online tool that allows students and the public
to view the aggregated median earnings of those who complete a certificate or degree
in a specific community college discipline at San Bernardino Valley College (SBVC)
and the other 111 community colleges in California and then proceed to enter the workforce.
Located at salarysurfer.cccco.edu, visitors can view median annual incomes for those who have completed 179 of the
most widely enrolled programs in California and did not transfer to a four-year institution.
Salary Surfer shows the median earnings for a community college graduate two years
prior to earning a certificate or degree, then two years and five years after earning
a certificate or degree.
(Video introduction to Salary Surfer by California Community College State Chancellor
Brice W. Harris)
An analysis of the data found on the Salary Surfer website shows the tremendous return
on investment provided by community colleges:
* Students who complete an associate degree more than double their annual pre-degree
earnings after two years in the workforce and nearly triple their pre-degree earnings
after five years in the workforce.
* Nearly 45 percent of students who graduated with an associate degree earned more
than $54,000 annually five years after getting their degree. That is the median wage
of someone with a bachelor’s degree living in California, according to the U.S. Census
Bureau
* About 25 percent of those graduates with associate degrees had median wages of more
than $77,000 five years after graduating. That is higher than the median income level
for those Californians with a master’s degree, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
* Median wages five years after award for students with associate degrees in vocational
disciplines was $61,600 compared to $39,300 for those with non-vocational associate
degrees.
Certificates and degrees available locally at SBVC are among the programs listed on
Salary Surfer:
Salary Surfer does not include the results from students who transfer to four-year
institutions or those listed as self-employed workers. Students utilizing the data
to decide upon a path of study should consider setting up a free educational planning
session with a counselor to ensure a match with the student’s interests, previous
academic experiences, aptitudes, and other factors that contribute to educational
success.