CBS News
Attendees of 1 in 4 higher education programs earn less than high school grads, study finds
Americans are increasingly skeptical of the value of a post-secondary education at a time when college attendance costs are soaring. In some cases, those doubts may be justified, according to a new analysis of earnings data from almost 4,000 colleges and other higher education programs.
A decade after enrolling, attendees of 1 in 4 higher education programs are earning less than the median annual income of $32,000 for high school graduates, according to The HEA Group, which analyzed data from the Department of Education to track the earnings outcomes of about five million students.
About 8% of institutions show their students’ median income a decade after enrolling is less than $22,000 a year, or about 150% of the federal poverty line — low enough to qualify for some public assistance programs, The HEA Group found.
To be sure, the majority of colleges are producing graduates who outearn people with only high school degrees, and economic research points to a well-documented wage premium for college grads that only grows over time. But the findings may help explain the growing pessimism among Americans about whether a college degree justifies taking on student debt, which currently tops $37,000 per borrower.
“The main reason why students go to college is for greater employability and for a financially secure future,” Michael Michael Itzkowitz, the former director of the Department of Education’s College Scorecard and the founder of The HEA Group, told CBS MoneyWatch.
He added, “As you think about the student debt problem, this raises questions. Are colleges providing enough of a value to allow students to earn a decent living and pay down their student loans after they attend?”
About 56% of Americans now believe that earning a four-year college degree isn’t worth the cost, compared with 40% a decade ago, according to a poll last year from the Wall Street Journal and NORC at the University of Chicago.
In addition to the soaring cost of college, the 64% graduation rate at colleges granting 4-year degrees means some students are leaving in debt but without a degree hindering them from enjoying the college wage premium. The HEA Group’s income data covers all higher education attendees, including both those who graduated and those who dropped out.
Dropouts are “three times as likely to default on their student loans as other students,” Itzkowitz said. “It’s often because they haven’t earned their credentials, yet they have taken on debt, which becomes unmanageable.”
Where post-secondary degrees may not pay off
Many of the colleges with post-secondary programs whose attendees earn less than high school grads are for-profit institutions or trade schools offering certificates in cosmetology and other vocational programs. Some are also community colleges, religious institutions and arts programs offering bachelor’s degrees.
“What we can see is that many of them are short-term, often times for-profit institutions that show the majority of their students earning less than at the typical high school student,” Itzkowitz said.
Certificate programs are an important avenue for students to obtain a post-secondary degree, and in the right circumstances can lead to higher earnings, he added. “They allow students to pay only one year of tuition to gain a skill and enter the workforce immediately,” he said, “but they are often the riskiest programs in the U.S.”
The lowest-earning institution is Searcy Beauty College in Searcy, Arkansas, whose attendees earn median income of about $11,300 per year a decade after enrolling, compared with median annual pay of $32,000 for high school grads, the HEA analysis found. The school’s cosmetology course costs $16,000, its website shows. Searcy Beauty College didn’t immediately return a request for comment.
The colleges that pay off
To be sure, attendees of about 2,800 U.S. colleges and other post-secondary institutions earn more than high school grads, the analysis found. But some grads may come out only slightly ahead, with attendees of about 90 institutions earning between $32,000 to $33,000 annually a decade after enrollment — just a hair higher than the $32,000 median income for high school grads.
Examining earnings data for a program’s attendees, as well as graduation rates, can help inform students and their parents about whether a degree will pay off long-term, Itzkowitz said.
And many public state universities and colleges provide excellent value, helping to juice their graduates’ incomes at an affordable price. Take Baruch College of the City University of New York (CUNY), a public institution. Its grads earn about $71,000 per year a decade after they attend — on the same order as well-regarded private colleges such as Scripps College and Wesleyan, the study found.
Baruch’s annual tuition cost is about $5,000 annually, compared with about $62,000 a year for tuition at Scripps.
At the top end of the spectrum, Ivy League colleges and other highly ranked schools produce the best incomes for their attendees, the study found. Attendees of Samuel Merritt University, a health care-focused institution, have the highest incomes, at $129,442 a decade later, while STEM-focused MIT is close behind with $124,213 in median annual earnings.
University of Pennsylvania’s attendees are the highest paid of the Ivy League, at $112,761 a decade later, the study found. But Itzkowitz noted that the Ivy League colleges are so exclusive that they educate just a “small sliver” of America’s students.
“There are so many colleges beyond the Ivy Leagues that provide good outcomes for their graduates at affordable prices,” he noted. “The larger public colleges across the U.S. enroll the vast majority of students and provide good outcomes at an affordable cost.”
CBS News
A week before Texas mom Alyssa Burkett’s murder, the killer received a text: “I hope you handle it”
After Alyssa Burkett was murdered, detectives quickly learned that the prime suspect was the father of her child, Andrew Beard. But as the investigation unfolded, they would find out that Beard wasn’t the only one involved in the murder plot.
Take a look inside the investigation.
Oct. 2, 2020 | 9 a.m.
Carrollton Police Department
Shortly after 24-year-old Alyssa Burkett pulled into her parking space at work in Carrollton, Texas, a man with a gun shot her in the head through her car window and fled.
Carrollton Police Department
Burkett survived the gun blast, got out of her car and tried to get help. Her bloody hand left a print on the office window.
The assailant saw Burkett running and chased after her. He stabbed and slashed Alyssa 44 times and left the scene in his black SUV.
Lizatte Bowers/Alyssa Burkett, Facebook
When Burkett’s mother, Teresa Collard, arrived at the scene, she immediately gave detectives a name: Andrew Beard. Beard was the father of Burkett’s 1-year-old child, Willow.
Oct. 2, 2020 | 12 p.m.
Carrollton Police Department
Hours after the murder, police officers stopped Beard in his white Ford F-150 pickup truck. His fiancée, Holly Elkins, and baby Willow were with him. Beard was told he could leave the scene, but he couldn’t return home. Officers also seized his pickup truck.
Oct. 2, 2020 | 9 p.m.
Carrollton Police Department
Later that night, police searched Beard’s home and found a GPS tracker battery and charging stations that matched a tracking device detectives discovered under Burkett’s car earlier that day.
Carrollton Police Department
Investigators also uncovered what they believed to be an unregistered gun silencer.
Oct. 3, 2020 | 12 p.m.
Carrollton Police Department
The next day, detectives searched Beard’s white F-150 pickup truck and found a backpack. Inside, they uncovered two bottles of dark brown makeup, and a pair of men’s hiking boots that had been cut into pieces and were soaking in bleach.
Oct. 3, 2020
Carrollton Police Department
Later that night, police located that black Ford SUV the assailant drove to the scene. It was found abandoned less than a mile from Beard’s house.
Carrolton Police Department
When detectives searched the SUV, they found a fake beard smeared with dark brown makeup.
Oct. 5, 2020
Carrolton Police Department
When Beard learned there was a warrant for his arrest, he turned himself in to the Carrollton Police Department. He was charged with murder.
Oct. 6, 2020
Beard’s fiancée, Holly Elkins, voluntarily went to speak with detectives at the Carrollton Police Department.
Carrolton Police Department
During the interview, Elkins told investigators that Beard was at home with her on the morning of the murder. She also described herself as a “stage 5 clinger girlfriend,” and said she would have known if Beard left the house that morning.
Oct. 6, 2020 | 1:30 p.m.
Carrollton Police Department
After her interview, investigators said Elkins made the following internet searches:
“Can I not be brought to court if I have a psychiatrist note?”
“vulnerable patients going to court”
“contact psychiatrist in Dallas”
“Can I not be subpoenaed to jail if I have a mental issue?”
Oct. 29, 2020
Beard spent two weeks behind bars before he was released on bond. Carrollton Police Det. Jeremy Chevallier said he was worried about baby Willow’s safety, so he reached out to the federal government to take the case under federal firearm laws.
Because detectives found an unregistered silencer during the search of Beard’s home, the federal government agreed to take the case.
Carrollton Police Department
Eight days after he bonded out, Beard was rearrested and ultimately charged with cyberstalking using a dangerous weapon resulting in death.
July 15, 2022
In June 2022, Beard pleaded guilty to cyberstalking and using a dangerous weapon resulting in death.
FBI
One month later, he spoke to the FBI as part of a plea deal. And he had a lot to say about Elkins’ involvement in Burkett’s murder.
“…It was…’this is how you’re gonna do this,’ it was, ‘… you’re gonna wear this dark makeup …’ That was her plan…that’s how it’s gonna be done,” Beard told the FBI.
May 24, 2023
Beard was sentenced to 43 years in federal prison.
June 21, 2023
After speaking with Beard, the FBI spent about a year building a case against Elkins.
Investigators found internet searches and a Walgreens receipt that connected her to the crime.
Carrollton Police Department
They also dug into text messages between Elkins and Beard. In a text sent to Beard one week before Burkett’s murder, Elkins wrote, “I hope you handle it I’m not coming home to b**s***”
Elkins was indicted on three charges: conspiracy to stalk, stalking using a dangerous weapon resulting in serious bodily injury and death and brandishing a firearm in relation to a crime of violence.
July 6, 2023
Johnson County Sheriff’s Office
Elkins was arrested at the Miami airport by federal agents after returning from a trip to the Dominican Republic.
April 9 – 16, 2024
Lizette Bowers
Elkins’ trial began at the federal courthouse in downtown Dallas. After six days, the case went to the jury.
April 17, 2024
Stephen Green
The jury deliberated for about an hour-and-a-half before they found Elkins guilty on all counts. On Aug. 15, 2024, Elkins was sentenced to two life terms.
CBS News
A week before Texas mom Alyssa Burkett’s murder, the killer received a text: “I hope you handle it”
After Alyssa Burkett was murdered, detectives quickly learned that the prime suspect was the father of her child, Andrew Beard. But as the investigation unfolded, they would find out that Beard wasn’t the only one involved in the murder plot.
Take a look inside the investigation.
Oct. 2, 2020 | 9 a.m.
Carrollton Police Department
Shortly after 24-year-old Alyssa Burkett pulled into her parking space at work in Carrollton, Texas, a man with a gun shot her in the head through her car window and fled.
Carrollton Police Department
Burkett survived the gun blast, got out of her car and tried to get help. Her bloody hand left a print on the office window.
The assailant saw Burkett running and chased after her. He stabbed and slashed Alyssa 44 times and left the scene in his black SUV.
Lizatte Bowers/Alyssa Burkett, Facebook
When Burkett’s mother, Teresa Collard, arrived at the scene, she immediately gave detectives a name: Andrew Beard. Beard was the father of Burkett’s 1-year-old child, Willow.
Oct. 2, 2020 | 12 p.m.
Carrollton Police Department
Hours after the murder, police officers stopped Beard in his white Ford F-150 pickup truck. His fiancée, Holly Elkins, and baby Willow were with him. Beard was told he could leave the scene, but he couldn’t return home. Officers also seized his pickup truck.
Oct. 2, 2020 | 9 p.m.
Carrollton Police Department
Later that night, police searched Beard’s home and found a GPS tracker battery and charging stations that matched a tracking device detectives discovered under Burkett’s car earlier that day.
Carrollton Police Department
Investigators also uncovered what they believed to be an unregistered gun silencer.
Oct. 3, 2020 | 12 p.m.
Carrollton Police Department
The next day, detectives searched Beard’s white F-150 pickup truck and found a backpack. Inside, they uncovered two bottles of dark brown makeup, and a pair of men’s hiking boots that had been cut into pieces and were soaking in bleach.
Oct. 3, 2020
Carrollton Police Department
Later that night, police located that black Ford SUV the assailant drove to the scene. It was found abandoned less than a mile from Beard’s house.
Carrolton Police Department
When detectives searched the SUV, they found a fake beard smeared with dark brown makeup.
Oct. 5, 2020
Carrolton Police Department
When Beard learned there was a warrant for his arrest, he turned himself in to the Carrollton Police Department. He was charged with murder.
Oct. 6, 2020
Beard’s fiancée, Holly Elkins, voluntarily went to speak with detectives at the Carrollton Police Department.
Carrolton Police Department
During the interview, Elkins told investigators that Beard was at home with her on the morning of the murder. She also described herself as a “stage 5 clinger girlfriend,” and said she would have known if Beard left the house that morning.
Oct. 6, 2020 | 1:30 p.m.
Carrollton Police Department
After her interview, investigators said Elkins made the following internet searches:
“Can I not be brought to court if I have a psychiatrist note?”
“vulnerable patients going to court”
“contact psychiatrist in Dallas”
“Can I not be subpoenaed to jail if I have a mental issue?”
Oct. 29, 2020
Beard spent two weeks behind bars before he was released on bond. Carrollton Police Det. Jeremy Chevallier said he was worried about baby Willow’s safety, so he reached out to the federal government to take the case under federal firearm laws.
Because detectives found an unregistered silencer during the search of Beard’s home, the federal government agreed to take the case.
Carrollton Police Department
Eight days after he bonded out, Beard was rearrested and ultimately charged with cyberstalking using a dangerous weapon resulting in death.
July 15, 2022
In June 2022, Beard pleaded guilty to cyberstalking and using a dangerous weapon resulting in death.
FBI
One month later, he spoke to the FBI as part of a plea deal. And he had a lot to say about Elkins’ involvement in Burkett’s murder.
“…It was…’this is how you’re gonna do this,’ it was, ‘… you’re gonna wear this dark makeup …’ That was her plan…that’s how it’s gonna be done,” Beard told the FBI.
May 24, 2023
Beard was sentenced to 43 years in federal prison.
June 21, 2023
After speaking with Beard, the FBI spent about a year building a case against Elkins.
Investigators found internet searches and a Walgreens receipt that connected her to the crime.
Carrollton Police Department
They also dug into text messages between Elkins and Beard. In a text sent to Beard one week before Burkett’s murder, Elkins wrote, “I hope you handle it I’m not coming home to b**s***”
Elkins was indicted on three charges: conspiracy to stalk, stalking using a dangerous weapon resulting in serious bodily injury and death and brandishing a firearm in relation to a crime of violence.
July 6, 2023
Johnson County Sheriff’s Office
Elkins was arrested at the Miami airport by federal agents after returning from a trip to the Dominican Republic.
April 9 – 16, 2024
Lizette Bowers
Elkins’ trial began at the federal courthouse in downtown Dallas. After six days, the case went to the jury.
April 17, 2024
Stephen Green
The jury deliberated for about an hour-and-a-half before they found Elkins guilty on all counts. On Aug. 15, 2024, Elkins was sentenced to two life terms.
President-elect Trump on Friday named Karoline Leavitt, his campaign press secretary, to serve as his White House press secretary.
Leavitt, 27, currently a spokesperson for Trump’s transition, would be the youngest White House press secretary in history. Previously that distinction went to Ronald Ziegler, who was 29 when he took the position in 1969 in Richard Nixon’s administration.
“Karoline Leavitt did a phenomenal job as the National Press Secretary on my Historic Campaign, and I am pleased to announce she will serve as White House Press Secretary,” Trump said in a statement. “Karoline is smart, tough, and has proven to be a highly effective communicator. I have the utmost confidence she will excel at the podium, and help deliver our message to the American People as we Make America Great Again.”
Leavitt replied in a post on X, formerly Twitter: “Thank you, President Trump, for believing in me. I am humbled and honored. Let’s MAGA,” the acronym for “Make America Great Again.”
The White House press secretary typically serves as the public face of the administration and historically has held daily briefings for the press corps.
MEGA
Trump disrupted those norms in his first term, preferring to serve as his own chief spokesperson. While he was president from 2017 to 2021, Trump had four press secretaries but frequently preferred to engage directly with the public, from his rallies, social media posts and his own briefings.
At a news conference this past August, Trump was asked if he’d have regular press briefings in his new administration. He told reporters, “I will give you total access and you’ll have a lot of press briefings and you’ll have, uh, from me.”
When it came to a press secretary, he said: “Probably they’ll do something. If it’s not daily, it’s going to be a lot. You’ll have more than you want.”
Leavitt, a New Hampshire native, is seen as a staunch and camera-ready advocate for Trump who is quick on her feet and delivers aggressive defenses of the Republican in television interviews.
She worked as a spokesperson for MAGA Inc., a super PAC supporting Trump, before joining his 2024 campaign. In 2022, she ran for Congress in New Hampshire, winning a 10-way Republican primary before losing to incumbent Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas.
During Trump’s first term in office, Leavitt worked in the White House press office. She then became communications director for New York Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik, whom Trump has tapped to serve as his U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
Trump’s first press secretaries, Sean Spicer and Sarah Huckabee Sanders, were known for quarreling with reporters. Another, Stephanie Grisham, never held a briefing. Her successor, Kayleigh McEnany, often lectured the news media during her appearances in the White House press briefing room.
In their final meeting, Xi tells Biden that China is ready to work with a new US administration
Springfield, Minneota football teams to meet in Class 1A Prep Bowl
Trump names fossil fuel executive Chris Wright as energy secretary
In their final meeting, Xi tells Biden that China is ready to work with a new US administration