Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas at Bethany College

Kansas has 22 teacher education programs, and the estimated outcomes here land right at the state median—$43,878 in first-year earnings against $30,125 in debt. That debt figure, however, runs about $6,000 higher than the typical Kansas teacher prep graduate carries, which matters when you're entering a profession with predictable but modest starting salaries.

Similar programs across Kansas produce fairly consistent earnings, clustering tightly between $43,000 and $47,000. The larger state universities show slightly better outcomes, but the differences are marginal—maybe $3,000 to $4,000 annually. What varies more significantly is debt load. The estimated 0.69 debt-to-earnings ratio means nearly 70 cents of debt for every dollar earned in year one. That's manageable for teaching, where salaries grow steadily with experience and benefits are solid, but it's not especially favorable compared to what you might find at Kansas's public universities.

For a family where 43% of students receive Pell grants, that debt differential deserves attention. If your child is committed to teaching in Kansas—where they'll likely start around $44,000 regardless of their bachelor's institution—the question becomes whether Bethany's smaller environment justifies the additional borrowing. Public teacher colleges in Kansas appear to deliver similar employment outcomes with less debt burden.