Health and Medical Administrative Services at Fairmont State University

Is a healthcare administration degree worth roughly $27,000 in debt when first-year earnings come in nearly $10,000 below the national median? Based on comparable programs nationally, Fairmont State students can expect about $26,500 in debt at graduation—reasonable by today's standards—but the earnings picture raises concerns. At $35,741, first-year income sits in the bottom 5th percentile nationally for this degree, suggesting graduates face an uphill battle compared to peers at most other programs. Within West Virginia, where healthcare administration graduates typically earn around $39,200, Fairmont State's outcomes land near the middle of the pack, though still trailing state benchmarks by several thousand dollars.

The 0.74 debt-to-earnings ratio looks manageable on paper, but context matters. When similar programs at WVU produce graduates earning $3,500 more annually, that gap compounds quickly over a career. For an open-access institution serving many first-generation students—a third receive Pell grants—the question becomes whether this specific program provides adequate return on investment, or whether students might achieve better outcomes elsewhere in the state or by pursuing different credentials altogether.

Parents should recognize that while healthcare administration offers stable career paths, the starting salary here suggests either lower-paying local market conditions or challenges in graduate placement. With estimated figures based on peer programs rather than Fairmont State's actual graduate outcomes, families need to dig deeper: where do graduates actually work, and what advancement looks like in West Virginia's healthcare sector.