ROI on LCU BA ranks 4th & 5th in LA

by Norm Miller

A Bachelor’s degree from Louisiana Christian University has the 4th highest return on investment (ROI) among private colleges in Louisiana and 5th highest among public schools offering BAs according to a Nov. 14 press release from Georgetown University.

The release cites a report — “A First Try at ROI: Ranking 4,500 Colleges” — from Georgetown’s Center on Education and the Workforce (CEW). The report notes that, despite the investment needed to attend private colleges, a degree from a non-profit college like Louisiana Christian University is worth $8,000 more annually 10 years after enrollment than a degree from a public school. And 40 years after enrollment, the non-profit private college BA yields a net economic gain of $838,000, even after paying off debt as compared to $765,000 for a public college BA. The yield of a BA from a for-profit private school in the same time period is $551,000.

CEW says it used the “expanded College Scorecard data to caLCUlate the net present value of a credential from 4,500 colleges [and] developed an online table of the 4,500 colleges that allows users to sort data on tuition, median student debt, and median earnings for each institution.”

Read the entire report and view its metrics at https://cew.georgetown.edu/CollegeROI.

Georgetown University’s Dr. Anthony P. Carnevale – lead author of the report and CEW director – said in the press release: “Not only will [the report] help students, but this kind of information on the costs and benefits of higher education holds institutions more accountable.”

President of Louisiana Christian University Dr. Rick Brewer resonates with Carnevale’s comment, saying that a “shrinking pool of available college students and the increase in higher education costs will require creativity and flexibility to maintain quality in an environment that is deflating in one aspect and inflating in another.”

Recognizing the challenges, LCU’s intentionality to “close the affordability gap has made our school both affordable and accessible especially for those who value a liberal arts education built upon a biblical worldview,” Brewer said.

Although private college tuition is higher than a public school, Louisiana Christian University’s flat-rate tuition and available scholarships and awards make the Pineville, Louisiana, institution competitive among all schools in the state, as well as the region.

According to christianuniversitesonline.org, Louisiana Christian University is the 4th most affordable Christian college in the South, North, and Midwest.

“Louisiana Christian University is very grateful for this report from Georgetown University,” Brewer said. “While we are pleased to be ranked as we are in Louisiana regarding ROI, we look beyond the temporal accolades to the eternal import of our Vision of Preparing Graduates and Transforming Lives. True, though we can apply actual numbers to the worthy material investment in our liberal arts education, we also realize the impossibility of quantifying the eternal return on the spiritual investment Louisiana Christian University makes in its students and culture.”

Brewer noted there is no tension between the temporal and eternal investment regarding a degree from Louisiana Christian University: “The more affordable and accessible our undergraduate programs are, the more likely the opportunities our graduates will have to impact the marketplaces of the world with the message of Jesus Christ. The ROI on that is incaLCUlable and priceless.”

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Hilary Strahota — Associate Director of Strategic Communications at the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce – contributed to this story.