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The Department of Education issued a memo last week announcing the release of what officials call an “earnings indicator” which will now flag more than 100 Texas colleges — and at least a dozen across San Antonio — as leading to “lower earnings.”
The disclosure is now attached to 1,365 U.S. institutions, according to data provided by the Department of Education. And it will appear when these schools are included in federal financial aid applications.
“FAFSA will present key financial data for each selected institution. If the institution’s average earnings are below the average high school graduate, the form will generate a ‘lower earnings’ disclosure,” states a memo published by the agency on Monday, Dec. 8.
The majority of all colleges flagged by the department are for-profit technical and vocational schools that offer certificate options, but not degrees. For Texas, the department based the new disclosure on post-high school graduation median earnings of $35,055, with a small number of them being rated against a slightly higher national earnings threshold of $35,490.
Federal officials say the indicator is intended to provide financial transparency, a notion at least one local educator said they are fully behind, with a few caveats.
“We do agree and feel that students do need to have clear information prior to enrolling,” said Delilah Olivares, campus director at Southern Careers Institute in San Antonio, which is included in the department’s list.
“The concern is that it’s a very blanket statement overall,” Olivares continued. “It’s not a one-size-fits-all kind of situation and it can definitely create misleading impressions about the schools and the community.”
Which schools are included?
The colleges flagged across San Antonio include beauty schools like Alamo City Barber College, Milan Institute of San Antonio, and Ogle School of Hair, Skin and Nails, as well as trade schools such as Southern Careers Institute, Southwest School of Business and Technical Careers and the South Texas Vocational Technical Institute.
Southern Careers Institute offers a nine-month medical assistant program, which can lead to medical or administrative certifications. Students might use these degrees to jump into a career or continue their education, Olivares said.
Olivares wishes the agency considered efforts to have students graduate with less debt alongside the earnings disclosure.
In 2024, the institute graduated 3,743 students, with about 70 percent of them utilizing loans that averaged $8,291, according to data provided by the institute. So far this academic year, the average loan amount has remained less than $9,000 as the college surpassed 4,100 graduates.
“We don’t want to have our students walking away with a large amount of debt,” Olivares said. “We do our best to keep that under $10,000 in student loans. Not everyone can say that.”
SCI leaders were preparing a statement to share with their current and prospective students, as a response to the federal announcement.
For Olivares, one of the biggest concerns with the agency’s announcement is that most colleges’ average annual earnings are compared to post-high school graduation median earnings across their respective state — which in Texas, landed at $35,055.
According to the latest Census data available, the average income of individuals living in San Antonio was $32,983 in 2023.
To arrive at these average earnings, the department reported using data from the College Scorecard, American Community Survey 5-year estimates from 2019 and 2020, and Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). These averages were then adjusted for inflation, according to the Department of Education.
“You have Dallas, Houston, Austin, San Antonio,” Olivares said. “You’re trying to compare apples to oranges. You’re trying to compare a large metro city to these smaller towns or schools down in the [Rio Grande Valley].”
The San Antonio Report partners with Open Campus on higher education coverage.