Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas at Mount Vernon Nazarene University

Mount Vernon Nazarene's teacher preparation program leaves graduates earning substantially less than they could at comparable Ohio schools, even as they carry similar debt loads. First-year teachers from this program make $32,508—about $5,000 below the state median and nearly $11,000 below what Ohio State grads earn in the same field. While sitting in the 40th percentile among Ohio programs sounds middle-of-the-road, that still means most state schools do better, and debt equals 83% of that already-low starting salary.

The silver lining is decent earnings growth: salaries climb 30% by year four to $42,220, which narrows but doesn't close the gap with stronger programs. The concern is that first-year salary matters enormously for young teachers managing loan payments and starting their lives. At schools like Cincinnati or Ohio State, graduates enter the profession with $10,000+ more in annual income from day one, making those early years far more manageable even with comparable debt.

Given the small sample size here, these numbers might not tell the whole story. But if you're paying out-of-state tuition or taking significant loans for this program, compare carefully against public universities in Ohio that consistently place graduates into higher-paying positions with similar debt burdens. The teaching credential is portable—where you earn it matters for your financial starting point.