Human Resources Management and Services at Fox Valley Technical College

Fox Valley Technical College's HR associate degree comes with an unusually favorable detail: graduates leave with just $14,923 in debt, less than 40% of the national median and significantly below Wisconsin's typical $16,000. That's rare—nationally, this program ranks in the 95th percentile for low debt. The starting salary of $40,006 matches the national median exactly, though it trails other Wisconsin technical colleges by a few thousand dollars. The debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.37 means graduates could feasibly pay off their loans within a year if they prioritize it, which is about as clean a financial picture as you'll find for a two-year HR program.

The caution here is sample size—fewer than 30 graduates were tracked, so these numbers may not represent a typical student's experience. Still, the debt advantage is substantial enough to be meaningful. Earnings growth of 13% over four years is modest but steady, and the program produces competent HR professionals who can enter the workforce immediately. If your child wants to break into HR without accumulating significant debt, this program delivers on that promise, even if it won't put them at the top of Wisconsin's earning ladder for this field.