Median earnings
Also called Scorecard earnings · program earnings
No. Starting salary is first-year base among employment-report respondents who accepted by three months. Scorecard is later IRS pay among Title IV completers still working and not in school. Non-workers drop out of the earnings median; they do not pull it down. Unemployed classmates can coexist with a high Scorecard number.
Median earnings on College Scorecard is the middle inflation-adjusted annual pay of federally aided completers who worked and were not enrolled in a named year after graduation. Field-of-study files report it at one, four, and five years. It is a tax-record median, not CSEA starting salary (Scorecard FOS documentation).
Is Scorecard earnings the MBA starting salary?
No. Starting salary is first-year base among employment-report respondents who accepted by three months. Scorecard is later IRS pay among Title IV completers still working and not in school. Non-workers drop out of the earnings median; they do not pull it down. Unemployed classmates can coexist with a high Scorecard number.
Two wage terms
| Measure | Cohort | Clock | Pay | Source / date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scorecard median earnings | Title IV completers, working, not enrolled | 1, 4, or 5 years after completion | W-2 + positive Schedule SE | ED FOS docs |
| CSEA starting / median salary | Seekers who accepted by 3 months | Offer | Base only | CSEA VII |
| Institution Scorecard earnings | Often entry cohorts | 6–10 years after entry | Tax pay | ED institution file |
Dollars are inflation-adjusted. Award years are pooled, so a “current” MBA row can describe people who finished several years earlier. Recent releases emphasize five-year medians alongside one- and four-year cuts.
Example: CREDLEV 5, CIP 52.02, four-year median $118,000. The school’s CSEA report lists $165,000 median base last spring. Both can be true. Different people, different clocks, different pay definitions.
Common errors
- Calling Scorecard earnings “average starting salary”
- Comparing a five-year median to a one-year CSEA base
- Treating suppression as zero
- Using campus-wide earnings as the MBA wage when the school also graduates other fields
FAQ
Does the median include unemployed graduates?
No. Non-workers are excluded. The median among workers can look high while a large share of the class is out of the labor market.
Are bonuses in the number?
Tax earnings include W-2 wages and some deferred compensation. They are not CSEA “base plus signing bonus.” A sign-on paid in another calendar year may miss the measurement year.
Why is my program blank?
Privacy suppression. Small Title IV completer counts do not publish.
Can I use this as the wage term in ROI?
Yes, if you name the year (1, 4, or 5) and the Title IV completer cohort. Do not silently swap it for first-year base.
Related terms
Sources
- Field of Study Data Documentation Aided completers who worked and were not enrolled; 1/4/5-year measures; W-2 + Schedule SE
- Institution Data Documentation Institution-level earnings are a different cohort than field-of-study completers
