Georgia’s ‘Degrees Pay’ Website Is Changing How Students See the Value of College
ATLANTA, GA — In an era where skepticism about the value of higher education is rising across the political spectrum, Georgia is turning away from slogans and toward transparency. With the launch of the Georgia Degrees Pay website in 2022, the state is giving students and families a powerful tool to evaluate the return on investment (ROI) of a college degree—before they ever set foot on campus.
A New Model for Decision-Making in Higher Education
Instead of trying to “sell” students on college, the Degrees Pay platform helps them make grounded, data-driven decisions. Developed under the University System of Georgia and led by Chancellor Sonny Perdue, the tool reflects a cultural shift that began under the late Chancellor Hank Huckaby, who believed it was a leadership failure to not clearly communicate the real value of a degree.
“Too many people are questioning the value of a college degree,” Huckaby once said—a concern that now guides the state’s push for data-first student tools.
What the Platform Offers
Georgia Degrees Pay functions as a public-facing dashboard that allows users to:
- Search for programs by school, degree type, or career field
- Compare tuition, net cost, and student debt by institution
- See earnings data at 1, 5, and 10 years post-graduation
- Analyze graduation rates and HOPE/Zell scholarship retention
Unlike national tools like the College Scorecard or Texas’s CREWS, Georgia’s platform offers state-specific data with national benchmarks, making it locally actionable while nationally relevant.
Transparency in a Time of Doubt
As Georgia Degrees Pay gains traction, it’s reshaping how families think about higher education. The platform emphasizes:
- Earnings range, not just averages — offering 25th, 50th, and 75th percentile data
- Real cost simulations, including scenarios for students who take longer to graduate
- Success predictors, such as how likely students are to retain merit scholarships or graduate on time
This level of detail allows students to define value on their own terms, rather than relying on generalized claims from universities or policymakers.
Why It Matters in 2025
College costs continue to soar, and many students are wary of student debt without a guaranteed path to financial security. Conservatives often cite concerns over liberal bias and impractical majors; progressives point to structural inequality and unaffordable tuition. In this divided landscape, Degrees Pay offers something rare: neutral, accessible, actionable facts.
It doesn’t make promises. It shows the numbers—and lets students decide.
A Model for the Nation?
While other states have adopted piecemeal ROI calculators or guided pathways tools, Georgia is now being looked to as a potential national model. The site balances simplicity with depth, offering tools even high schoolers can understand.
“Less spin, more sunlight,” as the original author Timothy Chester puts it.
In today’s climate of growing student debt, declining trust in institutions, and debates over the role of college in society, tools like Georgia Degrees Pay could be the future of education transparency.
What Do You Think?
Is this the kind of data transparency all states should offer? Do you think Georgia’s approach could change how students and families across the country choose their education paths?
Share your thoughts in the comments on SaludaStandard-Sentinel.com.
