Bachelor's · Burlington, Vermont

Is Security Science and Technology at Champlain College worth it?

High confidence High confidence: 100+ graduates behind the earnings figures.

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

Pays back in time: graduates typically recover the cost in about 4.5 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $73,497; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $108,917; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $28,520; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $168k (likely $168k – $208k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $64k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in VT; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 4.5 years (likely 3.9–5.2); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: $207k (likely $107k – $313k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $975k (likely $742k – $1.24M); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 61%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26