Moody's: Virginia Graduate Salary Database Could Help University Credits

WASHINGTON — A database charting new college graduate salaries across Virginia could help the credits of public universities by underscoring the value of certain degrees and encouraging more efficient operations, Moody’s Investors Service said Friday.

The salary survey, published Oct. 4, is a pioneering tool allowing prospective college students to compare which of the commonwealth’s universities yield the highest starting salary within each type of program or course of study.

“The first of its kind, the database is credit positive for the higher education sector, helping students and families determine which college and degree will best suit their needs,” wrote analyst Eva Bogaty. “Although the salary data is limited to Virginia, the information is valuable to families across the country as many out of state and international students enroll in Virginia colleges, and the occupational data are not going to vary much across states.”

“It also directly benefits colleges because it offers concrete data to counter growing regulatory and political criticism of the higher education sector, and will incentivize colleges to make more expedient strategic decisions to reallocate resources to programs with the strongest demand,” the report continues. “As families and students become better informed by enhanced disclosure, colleges will tend to seek greater operating efficiency and focus on post-graduate job placement and starting salaries.”

The Moody’s analysis concludes that the availability of such data will accelerate a trend of colleges focusing on science-related fields with high-earning potential, allowing some lower-rated schools that offer such degrees to gain more student demand.

“Higher education institutions that do not offer degrees in those fields will face strategic choices: the expense of introducing new programs, finding new partners for joint degrees and other forms of cost-sharing, or possibly joining emerging on-line networks to supplement their traditional classroom offerings,” Moody’s said. “While these choices could be wrenching for poorly governed and managed colleges, and might require dramatic leadership changes, the eventual shifts will be positive for most colleges, even for liberal arts colleges.”

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