HONOLULU – Hawaii Pacific University ranked the highest among Hawaii colleges for return on investment, according to a new study published in Bloomberg Businessweek. HPU’s 9.2 percent return on investment exceeds the national average of 9.1 percent.
Payscale — a company that collects information from individuals using an online pay comparison tool — dug into 1.4 million reports on U.S. college graduates for Bloomberg Businessweek in order to place a value on the college diplomas handed out at graduation ceremonies this past spring.
“This study looks at financial return on investment, which is important to many of our graduates,” said Dr. John Kearns, vice president of Academic Affairs. “We offer degrees in career fields known to be lucrative, such as nursing and information sciences. However, career satisfaction is equally important. Our graduates tell us that HPU supported them, helped them to become mature global citizens, and improved their life skills. We take great pride in that.”
Based on a typical college degree from the schools in the Payscale study, a graduate will earn about $1.95 million over a 30-year career, netting about $670,000 more than a high school graduate. A college degree will become even more important in the future, according to the study.
Hawai‘i Pacific University is the state’s largest private university with more than 8,000 students from all 50 states and more than 100 countries. HPU is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, the Council on Social Work Education, and the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission.
Submitted by HPU