Business Operations Support and Assistant Services at Brigham Young University-Idaho

BYU-Idaho's Business Operations Support program comes with exceptionally low debt—just $6,959, which puts it in the 95th percentile nationally (meaning very few programs nationwide saddle students with less). That's roughly one-third of the typical debt for this degree. The tradeoff is modest starting earnings of $27,137, though it's worth noting this places at the 60th percentile among Idaho programs, suggesting it performs reasonably well in the local context even if it lags the national median by about $1,500.

The debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.26 is quite manageable—graduates earn about four times what they owe, which is a comfortable position for an associate's degree holder. This reflects BYU-Idaho's church-subsidized tuition model, which genuinely reduces the financial burden on students. However, the small sample size here (under 30 graduates) means these numbers could shift significantly with more data, and the 24th percentile ranking nationally suggests graduates aren't commanding particularly competitive salaries outside Idaho.

For families concerned about minimizing debt rather than maximizing immediate earnings, this program delivers on that priority. Just understand you're trading lower starting pay for substantially lower financial risk, and these earnings may be most viable for students planning to stay in Idaho's lower cost-of-living market.