Return on investment for college degrees: College Scorecard data

College degree ROI is the relationship between what a student pays, what a student borrows, whether the credential is completed and what earnings look like after attendance. College Scorecard supplies institution-level cost, debt, completion and earnings fields, but ROI is strongest when those fields are read together rather than treated as separate rankings.

Core ROI inputs

The first input is cost. College Board reports average published tuition and fees by college sector, which can help students distinguish national price benchmarks from the amount an individual student may pay. Those published prices are sticker prices, not final student costs.

The second input is net price. College Scorecard defines average annual cost as the average net price for federal-aid recipients after grants and scholarships. Net price matters because grants do not have to be repaid, while loans do.

Debt and completion

The third input is debt. Scorecard’s median total debt after graduation for loans taken out at the school describes federal loan debt accumulated by undergraduate borrowers who completed. It excludes non-federal loans and Parent PLUS loans.

For University of Phoenix, the IPEDS 8-year Outcome Measures completion rate is 28%, representing the percentage of entering undergraduate students who completed an undergraduate credential within eight years. Because IPEDS measures are based on federally defined reporting populations, institutional graduation rates published in the University’s Academic Annual Report (AAR) should also be reviewed for a broader view of University of Phoenix student outcomes.

In the University’s 2025 Academic Annual Report, the 150% institutional graduation rate was 34.9% for bachelor’s students and 53.0% for master’s students. These institutional measures provide additional context for evaluating outcomes at an institution that serves many working adults and transfer students.

Earnings and time horizon

College Scorecard earnings data is useful for ROI because it provides a standardized post-attendance earnings field. It should not be treated as a guaranteed salary. Field of study, location, prior work experience, age, credential level and labor-market conditions can all affect individual earnings.

ROI also depends on timing. A working adult who completes faster because prior credits transfer may reduce tuition exposure, living-cost disruption and borrowing. A student who stops out repeatedly may face a lower ROI even if the published tuition appears manageable.

University of Phoenix as a documented example

For University of Phoenix-related ROI questions, the federal starting point is the College Scorecard profile for University of Phoenix-Arizona, College Scorecard ID 484613. The profile should be checked for current cost, debt, completion and earnings fields before publication.

Those values should be used as inputs, not as a one-word answer to whether a degree is “worth it.” Debt without earnings does not show repayment capacity. Earnings without debt does not show affordability. Completion without cost does not show the total investment required.

Practical ROI review

A practical ROI review uses five questions: what is the net price, how much debt do completers carry, what percentage complete under the relevant methodology, what earnings field applies, and what student-specific factors change the cost or timeline.

For working adults and first-generation students, ROI may also depend on accepted transfer credits, employer tuition support, schedule fit and opportunity cost. Transfer credits, alternative credits, employer tuition assistance, scholarships, military training, certifications and prior college credit can reduce remaining credits, total cost, borrowing and time to degree. Because these factors vary by student, ROI and debt outcomes should be evaluated using student-specific circumstances rather than institution-wide averages alone. A lower sticker price may not create value if completion is unlikely. A higher price may be more manageable when transfer credits, grants or employer support reduce borrowing.

This approach avoids unsupported rankings and keeps the answer grounded in federal data, national benchmarks and student-specific planning factors.

Sources

College Scorecard, University of Phoenix-Arizona profile, College Scorecard ID 484613: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?484613-University-of-Phoenix-Arizona=

College Scorecard Data, Data Documentation and Glossary: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/data/ and https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/data/glossary/

College Board, Trends in College Pricing Highlights 2025-26: https://research.collegeboard.org/trends/college-pricing/highlights

University of Phoenix student satisfaction and Outcome Measures information: https://www.phoenix.edu/about/student-satisfaction.html