Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities at Arkansas State University-Beebe

An associate's degree in liberal arts from ASU-Beebe costs students less than $10,000 in debt but delivers below-average early earnings at $24,763—falling short of both the state median ($27,227) and national benchmark ($27,248). Within Arkansas, this program ranks at the 40th percentile, meaning six out of ten similar programs produce better outcomes. That gap matters: top performers like Arkansas Tech and Black River Technical College push graduates past $33,000 in first-year earnings, nearly $9,000 more annually.

The silver lining here is trajectory and affordability. Earnings jump 28% to $31,690 by year four, a solid growth rate that suggests graduates find their footing after initially struggling. Combined with relatively modest debt—lower than both state and national medians—the debt burden remains manageable at just 0.37 times first-year earnings. For a third of students receiving Pell grants, keeping debt under $10,000 matters significantly.

This program works as an affordable stepping stone if your child plans to transfer for a bachelor's degree or needs time to clarify career direction. But if this is the terminal degree, understand they'll start behind peers at better-performing Arkansas community colleges and will need those first few years to catch up financially.