Nick Hughes
Opinion Editor
Affordable Colleges online, which is a website that ranks colleges based on
various criteria, has ranked Millersville University at the 25 th spot with greatest lifetime
on return investment (ROI.) According to the website this is defined as, “When a student
finishes college, he or she wants a degree that signals value and leads to healthy salary
potential.”
On the Millersville website, the college had this to say, “Graduates from
Millersville and the top schools enjoy the largest earnings gap between non-degree
holders over 30 years, and earn more on average than graduates from other
Pennsylvania schools.”
The methodology that Affordable Colleges used is an analysis of all accredited
postsecondary colleges in Pennsylvania. The general criteria for examination are as
follows:
o Accredited public or private not-for- profit institution located in the state
o Must offer at least 3 online associate degree programs (2-year schools)
o Must offer at least 3 online bachelor’s degree programs (4-year schools)
o Annual in-state tuition & fees below $5,000 (2-year schools)
o Annual in-state tuition & fees below $25,000 (4-year schools)
The methodology goes into further detail with its scoring criteria. Which is how they
ranked the various institutions. The metrics that the website used were in-depth. The
metrics included various aspects ranging from tuition to availability of job placement
services before and after graduation. Also including student to faculty ratio, availability
of counseling services and peer-based value or as the website calls it, “Bang for your
buck.”
