TAMIU Ranked 16th for ROI in National Georgetown University Study

Students and alumni of Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) have over a million reasons to celebrate their TAMIU degree.  

Researchers with Georgetown University’s  Center on Education and the Workforce (CEW) McCourt School of Public Policy have ranked TAMIU’s Return on Investment (ROI) at 16^th, among the highest in the nation -- with graduates projected to earn $1,006,000 more 40 years after graduation. 

TAMIU president Dr. Pablo Arenaz said the CEW ranking powerfully affirms the University’s mission and role. 

“We challenge our students daily to ‘Go Beyond.’  We do so because we know that they will do so and that this will indeed transform their lives and those of their families for generations.  Making an investment in your education with a Bachelor’s degree, as this study notes, gives you over a million reasons to do so.  With the exception of Texas A&M University, TAMIU had the highest ROI for A&M System campuses surveyed,” Dr. Arenaz said.

The first-ever ranking, dubbed “A First Try at ROI: Ranking 4,500 Colleges,” used data from the expanded College Scoreboard. Specifically, the ranking looks at Net Present Value (NPV) or how much a sum of money is valued today.  It then looks at NPV at different time horizons: 10, 15, 20, 30 and 40 years, determining that the 40 year horizon is the most comprehensive benchmark for judging value.

One of the “A First Try at ROI” authors said the ranking makes a strong case for a college education.

“Everyone is asking, ‘Is college worth it?’ and we set out to try to find an answer,” said Dr. Anthony P. Carnevale, lead author and CEW director, “Not only will it help students, but this kind of information on the costs and benefits of higher education holds institutions more accountable.”

The study pointed out that while short-term gains (10 years out) can be high for junior colleges and certificate  programs, returns for those with Bachelor’s degrees eventually overtake those of most two-year credentials. As also expected, private universities often have the highest ROI, but also average much higher costs for students and their families.

TAMIU’s  power to move graduates from low-income backgrounds to well-paying jobs recently earned it 13^th place in the national Top 20 of the Sixth Annual 2019 Social Mobility Index (SMI) created by CollegeNET, a leading provider of web-based on-demand  technologies for higher education.

Registration for TAMIU’s Spring Semester 2020 is underway online.  Classes begin Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2020.

The Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce (CEW) is an independent, nonprofit research and policy institute that studies the link between individual goals, education and training curricula, and career pathways. CEW is affiliated with the Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy. See the study at https://cew.georgetown.edu/cew-reports/collegeroi/

For more information, visit cew.georgetown.edu. Follow CEW on Twitter @GeorgetownCEW, Facebook, YouTube,LinkedIn, and Medium.

TAMIU is celebrating its 50th Anniversary and its 25th Anniversary at its north Laredo campus throughout 2019-2020.  A dedicated website shares the University’s transformation from a hybrid upper-level university to a full doctoral degree-granting University enrolling over 8,400 students and over 29,000 alumni worldwide. It includes a calendar of Anniversary events and more at tamiu.edu/50.

For more on the University’s story, contact the TAMIU Office of Public Relations, Marketing and Information Services at 956.326.2180, email prmis@tamiu.edu, click on tamiu.edu or visit offices in the Sue and Radcliffe Killam Library, room 268.

University offices close for the holidays at noon on  Friday, December 20, 2019 and reopen at 8 a.m. Friday, Jan. 3, 2020.