Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods at Bushnell University

Similar teacher education programs across Oregon suggest graduates from Bushnell earn around $44,000 in their first year—right in line with the state median and slightly above the national benchmark of $41,800. The estimated $27,000 in student debt, while meaningful, translates to a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.61, which is manageable by education standards. Programs at Western Oregon and Eastern Oregon produce comparable earnings with similar debt loads, suggesting this is fairly typical for Oregon teacher preparation.

The four-year earnings figure of $42,000 actually sits below the first-year estimate, which is unusual but reflects the challenging salary progression teachers often face early in their careers. This aligns with what we see across other Oregon education programs, where starting salaries don't always climb quickly. The relatively modest debt load helps mitigate this concern—graduating with $27,000 rather than $40,000 or more makes a substantial difference when salaries plateau.

For families committed to teaching, Bushnell appears positioned similarly to Oregon's public universities in terms of outcomes, based on peer program data. The key consideration is whether your child is entering teaching with realistic expectations about salary growth and whether the school's smaller environment (evident in the suppressed data) offers training advantages that justify choosing Bushnell over lower-cost state schools with nearly identical earnings profiles.