Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management at Saint Paul College

A certificate in IT administration with an estimated debt of $12,000 against first-year earnings around $42,000 suggests a manageable financial burden—your child would owe roughly 28 cents for every dollar earned in that first year. This falls well below the debt-to-earnings threshold that typically signals trouble (around 0.50 or higher). For comparison, similar certificate programs nationally carry median debt at the same $12,000 level, though programs in Minnesota specifically tend to run higher at $18,554, which means Saint Paul College may offer relative value even within the state.

The challenge here is that these figures are drawn from peer programs nationally, not from Saint Paul College's actual graduates. The suppressed data makes it impossible to know whether this school's specific network, curriculum, or employer connections produce outcomes above or below these national norms. What we do know is that 40% of students receive Pell grants, indicating the program serves a significant number of lower-income students who may be particularly sensitive to any outcome variation.

For an anxious parent, the estimated numbers suggest reasonable value on paper, but you're operating with borrowed certainty. If your child needs credentials quickly to enter the IT job market and can minimize debt—perhaps through financial aid or part-time enrollment—this looks like a calculated risk rather than a red flag. Just recognize you're betting on Saint Paul College matching what similar programs deliver elsewhere.