A new earnings indicator created by the U.S. Department of Education this month ranks Mississippi University for Women as the top university in the state for undergraduate earnings after graduation.
According to the department’s data, MUW graduates earn a median of $63,197 in the four years after graduation, nearly $4,000 more than the next highest university – University of Mississippi.
President Nora Miller said the ranking reflects a combination of targeted program investments, career preparation and a focus on workforce-aligned degrees.
“I think we are gaining momentum and getting our message out there,” Miller told The Dispatch on Wednesday. “We’ve invested in certain programs and invested in some things to help us get to that point.”
The Department of Education rolled out the new earnings indicator earlier this month to “complement” the Free Application for Federal Student Aid process in an effort to provide students and their families “clear, easy-to-understand information about a school’s post-graduation earnings,” an education department press release said.
The values are based on the undergraduate earnings reported through the College Scorecard using federal tax data, reflecting outcomes specifically for students who received federal financial aid. Nearly 50% of students at MUW receive federal loans, according to the university’s College Scorecard.
“Some of the other schools, they might not be factoring in as many students because they may not have had as many recipients,” Miller said.
Mississippi State University took the third highest ranking behind MUW and Ole Miss, with graduates earning a median of $57,509 four years after graduation. University of Southern Mississippi ranked sixth on the list, with graduates earning $48,626 after graduation, and Mississippi Valley State University took the lowest ranking for the state, with graduates earning $36,842 in the four years after graduation.
All Mississippi institutions of higher learning ranked above the median earnings for high school graduates in Mississippi, about $31,574.
Miller expects The W’s nursing program was “the main driver” of the university’s ranking. Nursing is the largest degree program at MUW, graduating between 100 and 120 nurses each May.
“That tends to have higher salaries,” she said. “… It’s pretty much instant once they graduate, they get a good salary, whereas in other fields, you might have to take an assistant position and work your way up.”
Miller also pointed to early career preparation for students ahead of graduation as well as a concerted effort to align curriculum with employers’ needs, particularly those within the state’s fastest growing and highest paying occupations.
Working closely with industry partners helps achieve that goal, Provost Scott Tollison told The Dispatch
“Several of our programs do have advisory boards that consist of local (business) leaders in the … discipline that they serve, and that’s been critical in helping us align our curriculum to the needs of the workforce,” he said.
Miller said the university definitely plans to tout the figures while marketing The W to prospective students, especially those weighing affordability and long-term return on investment.
“This really shows that the social mobility rankings that we received, this is proof of … taking students who have financial need, and then after graduation, being able to really impact their lives and their families in such a way,” she said.
McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.
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