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Tech’s electrical engineering and marketing programs produce top marks in recent ROI study
Two of Tennessee Tech University’s academic programs – electrical engineering and
marketing – topped lists from a recently released report on the return-on-investment
for students and taxpayers at public universities and colleges in Tennessee.
Of the 263 bachelor’s degree programs examined in the Beacon Center of Tennessee’s report, Tech’s electrical engineering program topped the list based on the report’s comparison of student debt to earnings for graduates of the program, with Tech’s marketing program topping lists related to lowest student debt.
“It’s really important for students today to earn a college degree, because we know it provides them greater opportunities for a career, as well as increased earnings over their lifetime,” Tech President Phil Oldham said. “But college needs to be affordable. I think this report points out that the ROI on a student’s education investment is the highest here at Tennessee Tech.”
Tech programs accounted for seven of the top 25 bachelor’s degree programs listed. The other programs in the top 25 are chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, computer science, civil engineering, engineering technology, and marketing. UT Knoxville, edged Tech out with eight total programs in the top 25, with UT Chattanooga the next closest university with four programs.
Metrics used in the report include earnings, student debt, monthly debt payment and debt as a percentage of earnings.
Among bachelor’s degree programs, Tech’s marketing degree had the lowest student debt and lowest monthly debt payment, with electrical engineering holding the fifth-highest earnings.
Jason Edmonds, a research associate with the Beacon Center, in an interview with local radio station NewsTalk 94.1, said “Tennessee Tech actually saw some really good returns for the programs that they offer.
“Anything that was a debt-to-earnings ratio of 75% or less was considered a positive return on investment,” Edmonds explained. “Every bachelor’s program at Tennessee Tech passed that.”
In total, Tech had 24 programs examined, with 15 programs below 50% in debt-to-earnings ratio, 11 below 40%, and four below 30%.
The Beacon Center is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, and independent organization dedicated to providing expert empirical research and timely free market solutions to public policy issues in Tennessee. The Beacon report analyzed data from the U.S. Department of Education’s College Scorecard to determine whether there were positive or negative returns on an investment in obtaining a degree in a specific academic field. The study looked at a total of 320 associate or bachelor’s degree programs that had sufficient data for analysis.
Tennessee Tech is ranked as the number one public university in the state, according to Money Magazine, as well as a “Best National University” by U.S. News & World Report. The university offers more than 200-plus programs of study, and Tech grads leave with the least debt of all public universities in the state. In fact, based on total cost and alumni earnings, Tech provides students with the highest return on investment for any public university in Tennessee, according to PayScale.
