Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services at Huntington Junior College

With only a small cohort reporting, these numbers require careful interpretation, but the pattern is troubling enough that parents should pay close attention. Graduates earn $23,748 in their first year—roughly $5,000 below West Virginia's already-modest median for medical assisting programs and less than half the national benchmark. Within four years, earnings actually drop to $20,421, a decline that's unusual in healthcare support fields where stability is normally a key benefit. Meanwhile, the $25,027 in debt exceeds what students typically borrow at other West Virginia programs, including community colleges where outcomes are substantially stronger.

The comparison to alternatives within the state is stark. University of Charleston medical assisting graduates earn nearly $40,000, and even Mountwest Community and Technical College—a public institution with likely lower tuition—shows first-year earnings of $35,603. That's a $12,000 annual difference that compounds significantly over a career. When 87% of students here receive Pell grants, taking on above-average debt for below-average returns creates a particularly precarious financial situation.

Given the small sample size, one or two outliers could be skewing these results. However, the combination of high debt, low starting pay, and backward earnings trajectory makes this program difficult to justify when West Virginia offers multiple community college options with better outcomes and lower costs.