Business Administration, Management and Operations at Crown College

The $27,000 debt load sits right at the national median for business bachelor's programs, which is reassuring given that first-year earnings based on comparable programs in Minnesota typically reach around $52,000. With a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.51, graduates would need to dedicate roughly half their first year's salary to eliminate this debt completely—a manageable position that suggests Crown's program won't leave students overleveraged. The fact that this debt figure falls in the 25th percentile nationally (meaning 75% of similar programs produce higher debt) indicates Crown is delivering this credential at a reasonable cost.

However, there's a puzzling reversal in the earnings trajectory: while similar Minnesota programs suggest starting salaries around $52,000, Crown's actual reported four-year earnings drop to $47,500. This backward movement is unusual for business degrees, where earnings typically climb as graduates gain experience. It could signal that Crown graduates are finding different career paths than the typical business major, perhaps in nonprofit or ministry-related roles given the school's Christian mission, or that the small cohort size that required estimation is creating data noise.

The honest limitation here is that we're comparing estimated first-year earnings from peer institutions against actual four-year data from Crown itself—two different data points that make it difficult to assess true trajectory. What's clear is the debt burden is controlled and the four-year earnings, while below Minnesota's stronger programs like Capella or the University of Minnesota system, still exceed the national median for business degrees.