Business Administration, Management and Operations at Fayetteville State University

Fayetteville State's business program ranks near the bottom nationally—5th percentile—and struggles even within North Carolina, where the state median for business grads is $43,375 compared to this program's $30,944 first-year earnings. That's a $12,000 gap right out of the gate, and while earnings do climb 37% to $42,451 by year four, you're still falling short of what typical NC business grads earn on day one. Compare this to UNC-Chapel Hill business grads earning $85,618 or even mid-tier NC programs clearing $48,000, and the opportunity cost becomes stark.

The debt picture compounds the problem. At $28,786, graduates carry nearly a full year's starting salary in loans—a 0.93 debt-to-earnings ratio that's uncomfortably tight. For a program serving a predominantly first-generation college population (53% Pell Grant recipients), these outcomes present real financial strain. The moderate sample size suggests these numbers are reasonably reliable, not statistical noise.

If your child is considering this program, understand they're likely accepting significantly lower earnings than peer institutions in exchange for FSU's accessible admissions and in-state tuition. That tradeoff might make sense for specific circumstances—perhaps they need to stay local or FSU offers unique support services—but purely from an earnings-to-debt standpoint, other NC business programs deliver substantially better returns.