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A new web tool will provide information about the expected return on investment for degrees and certificates earned at public institutions in Colorado. The Colorado version of the site, dubbed Launch My Career, went live on Thursday. It's a project led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, College Measures, Gallup Inc. and USA Funds. More state-specific tools are on the way, the groups said, including planned versions for Minnesota, Tennessee and Texas. USA Funds is spending $3.5 million on the project and related work.
The site is designed to help students find and compare colleges at the academic program level. It includes expected earnings, comparisons of those earnings with the investment required to earn a credential, demand for jobs in a field of study -- both statewide and in select metropolitan areas -- and whether others who have pursued the same college program are happy with their jobs, based on data from Gallup. The tool also features a lifestyle goal calculator, which shows the number of years it will take for a salary in a particular occupation to meet the user's lifestyle goals.
“Launch My Career is the only tool that provides information on the ROI of public postsecondary education,” Mark Schneider, president of College Measures and a vice president at the American Institutes for Research, said in a written statement. “The tool is a game changer for students, allowing them to select the right degree program or institution based on their interests or preferred jobs and then compare their selection across multiple institutions.”
