UNC Wilmington, previously ranked 11th in the state by US News World & Report, has been ranked 21st in the state by PayScale.com for earning potential of graduates.

 UNCW is ranked behind other universities in the UNC system, including UNC Charlotte (6), UNC Greensboro (16), UNC Asheville (19), and UNC Chapel Hill (5). 

PayScale determined university rankings by conducting a survey asking graduates with bachelor’s degrees their starting and mid-career salaries. An average was then determined from survey results.

The average starting salary of UNCW graduates was $35,500, and the mid-career median was $56,300. 

“It is important to remember that medians will likely mask significant variation between, let’s say, computer science or finance majors and art history or philosophy majors,” said Cindy Lawson, assistant to the chancellor in marketing and communications.

 PayScale’s survey only takes into account students who have completed a bachelor’s degree program and not those who have acquired a master’s. Because PayScale’s survey is voluntary, it may not be an accurate representation of graduate salary.

“Because it is voluntary, you cannot be sure what percentage of students have completed the survey. Three? Three hundred? Three thousand?” said Thom Rakes, director of UNCW’s career center. “It definitely affects the validity of the data.”

“This is not a rigorous data collection process,” said Lawson. “PayScale only relies on ‘self-reported’ data. Individuals who take the survey must complete it successfully.”

The Chronicle of Higher Education published an article about the PayScale rankings in June, stating: “Earnings are easy to count. But unlike diplomas, they’re not easy for colleges to count, particularly decades after graduation. It’s been difficult to create earnings measures that allow one college to be compared with another.”

“The data itself is opinion-based,” said Rakes. “It’s the sort of data we would all like to know (parents and students), but the bottom line is, there is no way of knowing.”

The Chronicle of Higher Education said the problem with measuring graduate salary by state is that it only covers those who stay in the state and that each state may interpret data in a different way. Their solution was to have a government agency, maybe one affiliated with the Social Security Department, that can accurately and consistently survey the country.

The Social Security Department can ask where clients received their education and provide that data to various universities. It would solve the issue of contacting graduates out of state and result in consistent and accurate data.

 UNCW’s career center conducts routine phone call surveys with alumni, beginning five months after graduation. While questions about employment and possible graduate school involvement are asked, Rakes said most do not feel comfortable discussing their salary via telephone.

“We are proposing the idea that the NC Employment Agency ask clients about their education and then provide that information to UNCW,” said Rakes. “The problem with that, however, is that we limit ourselves to in-state data.”

In comparison, US News & World Report’s ranking was based on freshman retention, graduation rates and strength of faculty. UNCW was 11th in state, tied with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and the College of Charleston.

US News & World Report uses a different methodology than PayScale. According to their website, PayScale’s data is based on quantitative measures that education experts have proposed as reliable indicators of academic quality. It’s based on their researched view of what matters in education.

Students at UNCW, like Kelsey Rogers, didn’t consider the average graduate salary when applying. “I wanted to attend a medium-sized university where I thought the size of the student body wasn’t overwhelming or underwhelming,” said Rogers.

Rogers also said her decision on college was based on proximity to friends, location and tuition price.