Bachelor's · Salt Lake City, Utah

Is Computer Software and Media Applications at Western Governors University worth it?

High confidence High confidence: 100+ 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 1.2 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $100,706; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $140,923; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $18,119; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $54k (likely $54k – $70k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $99k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in UT; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 1.2 years (likely 1.0–1.4); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: $706k (likely $603k – $811k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $1.86M (likely $1.60M – $2.16M); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 50%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26