Criminal Justice and Corrections at Olivet Nazarene University

Olivet Nazarene's Criminal Justice program lands squarely in the middle of Illinois options—ranking at the 40th percentile statewide—but falls short of what other Illinois schools deliver. At $34,877 in first-year earnings, graduates earn about $4,400 less than the state median and roughly $3,000 below the national benchmark. The gap widens when you consider that comparable Illinois programs like Benedictine and Aurora consistently place graduates above $44,000, creating an earnings difference of more than $9,000 annually.

The $27,000 debt load is reasonable and aligns with both national and state norms, which keeps the debt-to-earnings ratio at 0.77—manageable but not impressive given the below-average starting salary. Earnings do grow 16% over four years to $40,373, though this still trails the typical Illinois graduate by about $1,000 and remains well below the top-performing programs in the state.

For families considering this program, understand that you're paying private school tuition (even with potential financial aid) for outcomes that lag behind multiple Illinois alternatives. If your student is committed to criminal justice and Olivet for other reasons—campus culture, specific programs, location—the debt burden won't be crushing. But purely from an earnings standpoint, other Illinois schools offer stronger returns in this field.