Teaching English or French as a Second or Foreign Language at Ashford University

Ashford's ESL/French teaching program shows dramatically different stories depending on whether you're comparing nationally or locally. While graduates earn $22,257 in their first year—placing them in just the 5th percentile nationally and $14,000 below the national median—they're actually at the California median for this credential. The problem is that "California median" means exactly one program: this is the only Bachelor's-level ESL/French teaching program reporting data in the state.

The debt burden tells a clearer story. At $35,391, graduates carry significantly more debt than the national median of $26,625, creating a debt-to-earnings ratio of 1.59. This means graduates owe about 19 months of their starting salary—manageable compared to some programs, but challenging when that salary barely clears $22,000. Earnings do grow 11% to $24,747 by year four, but that's still nearly $12,000 below what graduates nationally earn at that point.

The critical caveat: this data reflects fewer than 30 graduates, which means these numbers could shift dramatically year to year. For a parent evaluating this program, the question isn't really about state comparisons—it's whether $35,000 in debt makes sense for a career starting at $22,000 annually. Unless your child has specific reasons to attend Ashford over alternatives, exploring teaching certification programs at California State Universities would likely offer similar career outcomes with less debt.