Criminal Justice and Corrections at Miller-Motte College-Charleston

Miller-Motte College-Charleston's criminal justice program charges nearly double the typical debt for this degree—$29,517 versus a national median of $14,230—while delivering earnings that barely reach $30,500 and then flatline. That debt burden ranks in the bottom 5% nationally, meaning 95% of similar programs manage to graduate students with less debt. With earnings essentially unchanged between year one and year four, graduates face nearly a full year's salary in loans with no growth trajectory to help pay it down.

Within South Carolina, this program sits squarely in the middle for earnings but among the worst for debt. York Technical College graduates earn $44,401—nearly 50% more—while Tri-County Technical and Greenville Technical both deliver significantly better outcomes. Even the state median debt of $17,313 is $12,000 lower than what Miller-Motte students carry. For a parent considering in-state options, the technical college system offers substantially better value in this field.

The practical reality: your child would be borrowing nearly $30,000 for a job paying about $30,000 annually, with no sign of salary progression over the next several years. Unless there are compelling reasons to choose this specific program—like location constraints that make the technical colleges inaccessible—the combination of high debt and stagnant earnings makes this a problematic investment compared to other South Carolina options.