Business/Commerce at Thomas More University

Thomas More's business associate program produces eye-popping initial earnings—$83,571 in the first year, more than double the national median and ranking in the 95th percentile nationally. But there's an unusual twist: graduates' salaries drop to $68,202 by year four, an 18% decline that's the reverse of typical career trajectories. The $49,185 median debt is nearly four times the national average for associate programs in business, though the debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.59 remains manageable given those first-year salaries.

The moderate sample size and extremely high starting salaries suggest these graduates may be entering family businesses or specialized roles that don't follow conventional career paths. Within Kentucky, this program sits at the median for both earnings and debt—in fact, the state figures match this school's exactly, indicating it's representative of the handful of associate business programs operating in the state rather than an outlier.

For parents, the critical question is whether their student will follow the path that leads to those exceptional starting salaries. If they're not entering a family business or don't have connections to those high-paying initial roles, they might be taking on associate-level debt without the typical earnings growth that makes such borrowing worthwhile. The earnings decline pattern is concerning without understanding what's driving it—whether it's graduates leaving those initial positions, part-time work, or something else entirely.