Undergraduate certificate · Grand Junction, Colorado

Is Criminal Justice and Corrections at Colorado Mesa University worth it?

Low confidence Low confidence: fewer than 40 graduates behind the earnings figures.

The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans

Pays back fast: graduates typically recover the cost in about 0.9 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $67,107; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $86,315; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $17,061; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $16k (likely $16k – $21k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $42k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in CO; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 0.9 years (likely 0.6–1.4); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: $341k (likely $234k – $471k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $863k (likely $605k – $1.17M); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 43%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26