CWU Ranks as One of America’s ‘Best Value’ Colleges

Central Washington University joins the University of Washington and Bellevue College as the top public universities in the state of Washington for return on investment (ROI) in a new survey by Payscale.com, an online college rating company.

Nationally, CWU is in the top 10 percent of colleges and universities for estimated ROI. The ranking is based on the average earnings over 20 years of college graduates less the average earnings of high school graduates of the same age.

“It’s hard to find a better value for your tuition dollar than at Central Washington University,” according to Payscale.com. To read the entire study, go to https://www.payscale.com/college-roi.

According to payscale.com, CWU’s alumni have an estimated annual percentage return on investment of 10.6 percent and is in the top 10 percent nationally for ROI. Three academic departments at CWU are nationally ranked for ROI in the top 10 percent, including social work and criminal justice (top 2.4 percent), business (top 8.2 percent), and education (top 8.2 percent).

“The results of this survey show that Central is on the right track when it comes to providing its students with a cost-effective, academically-rigorous curriculum,” noted CWU President James L. Gaudino.

In the nine academic areas measured in the survey, CWU’s programs are all ranked in the top 25 percent for ROI nationally.

Overall, CWU ranks ahead of Washington State University and Western Washington University and just below the three University of Washington campuses and Bellevue College for estimated annual ROI in Payscale.com’s annual survey.

Media contact: Richard Moreno, Department of Public Affairs, 509-963-2714, Richard.Moreno@cwu.edu.