Business Operations Support and Assistant Services at Ohio Business College-Sandusky

This program carries significant financial risk that demands serious scrutiny. Graduates leave with $31,683 in debt—58% higher than the national median for this field—yet earn just $22,925 in their first year. That debt burden would take a graduate earning every penny (pre-tax) more than a year to repay, and the trajectory gets worse from there: by year four, median earnings drop to $19,174, putting graduates below full-time minimum wage in many states.

The state context offers little comfort. While this program sits at the 60th percentile among Ohio's business operations programs, that's largely because Ohio's programs in this field struggle overall—the state median matches this school's first-year earnings exactly. Nationally, these graduates rank in just the 10th percentile for earnings, meaning 90% of similar programs produce better outcomes. The exceptionally high debt (5th percentile nationally) makes the value equation even more troubling.

The sample size here is small, so individual circumstances vary widely. However, with 84% of students receiving Pell grants, this program appears to serve a predominantly low-income population who can least afford a degree that leads to declining earnings and outsized debt. Unless your child has guarantees of specific employer connections or family business opportunities, this investment doesn't add up. Two years at community college leading to either workforce entry or transfer to a four-year program would likely deliver better returns with less financial risk.