Data-driven accreditor releases research brief on program-specific economic ROI at WSCUC-accredited institutions, showing positive economic returns
The WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC) today announced that its public-facing Key Indicators Dashboard (KID) now organizes program-level return on investment data by field of study, allowing institutions, students, policymakers, and other stakeholders to compare outcomes for specific disciplines across institutions and against national benchmarks.
“As demand grows for clearer, program-level insight into postsecondary outcomes, organizing data by field of study adds critical context for understanding how graduates perform in the labor market,” said Dr. Maria Toyoda, president of WSCUC. “This level of transparency helps students compare programs, enables institutions to assess outcomes relative to peers, and supports more informed decision-making and continuous improvement.”
The enhancement builds on WSCUC’s introduction of the Price-to-Earnings Premium (PEP) metric rolled out in August 2025. Already known as a national leader in the use of large-scale data to quantify student success, institutional performance, and financial sustainability, WSCUC is the first institutional accreditor to incorporate program-level ROI metrics into its public-facing evaluation tool. The PEP metric reveals how long it takes graduates to recoup their education investment based on their earnings premium compared to typical high school graduates.
WSCUC also released Program-Level ROI: Findings from WSCUC’s Price-to-Earnings Premium Analysis, a study that examined 1,868 undergraduate programs at 111 WSCUC-accredited institutions with PEP data in KID. The study found that 98% of programs analyzed deliver positive economic returns.
The PEP by field of study view in KID comes as state and federal policymakers place increased emphasis on program-level outcomes, including an earnings test proposed through the U.S. Department of Education’s Accountability in Higher Education and Access through Demand-driven Workforce Pell (AHEAD) negotiated rulemaking process. Originally developed by Michael Itzkowitz, a higher education researcher, policy expert, and cofounder and president of The HEA group, the PEP metric is calculated by dividing the total net price of a program by the earnings premium of its graduates compared to typical high school graduates aged 25 to 34. PEP data in KID use earnings outcomes for working graduates who received federal financial aid.
“These findings underscore the importance of taking an outcomes-focused approach to accreditation,” said Dr. Stephanie Huie, WSCUC vice president and data lead. “Institutions will be able to use the findings to showcase their impact and consider ways to improve programs in which earnings fall below the benchmark. Our continued focus on program-level ROI data reflects WSCUC’s longstanding emphasis on evidence and transparency to improve not just institutional effectiveness, but ultimately student outcomes.”