Criminal Justice and Corrections at Kent State University at Trumbull

This program carries nearly $20,000 in debt—about $3,000 above the state median for criminal justice associate's degrees and nearly $6,000 more than the national benchmark. Given that first-year earnings from comparable Ohio programs hover around $38,500, that debt load translates to half your first year's salary just to get started in the field. The four-year earnings figure of $36,961 is particularly troubling: it suggests income might actually decline rather than grow, which is unusual and worth investigating further.

The earnings themselves aren't terrible—they match the state median and beat the national average by about $5,000. But when you look at other Ohio programs producing stronger outcomes (several Ohio University campuses report graduates earning in the mid-$40,000s), the question becomes whether Kent State Trumbull's specific program offers enough value to justify the premium debt load. With 37% of students here on Pell grants, that extra $3,000 in borrowing hits harder for families already stretching financially.

The fundamental issue is that we're comparing estimated earnings to actual debt you'll owe. If you're set on this field and this location works logistically, make sure the program offers concrete career connections—internships, hiring pipelines, networking—that could push earnings closer to what the top-performing Ohio programs achieve. Otherwise, that $20,000 debt burden for earnings that may stagnate makes this a questionable investment compared to less expensive options in the state.