A New Law Holds Colleges Accountable if Their Grads Don’t Earn More than $36,000 a Year

A new law holds colleges accountable if their grads don’t earn more than $36,000 a year

Just over 30 fine arts, music, theater, film and photography programs in California fail the new earnings test.

A new law holds colleges accountable for grad earnings

This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. With just a high school diploma in hand, and no additional training or education, the average Californian is currently expected to earn about $18 an hour, or $36,000 a year — just above the state’s minimum wage. Effective this month, all colleges, universities and short-term certificate programs in the U.S. must prove that their graduates earn at least the median w…

New federal law holds colleges accountable if their grads earn less than $36,000 a year

WITH JUST A HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA IN HAND, and no additional training or education, the average Californian is currently expected to earn about $18 an hour, or $36,000 a year — just above the state’s minimum wage. Effective this month, all colleges, universities and short-term certificate programs in the U.S. must prove that their graduates earn at least the median wage of someone in their state with only a high school diploma. Otherwise, their st…

A new law holds colleges accountable if their grads don’t earn more than $36,000 a year • The Mendocino Voice | Mendocino County, CA

This was written by staff at the nonprofit newsroom CalMatters. It was republished by The Mendocino Voice in partnership with CalMatters to bring relevant nonpartisan news to Mendocino County readers. Learn more about CalMatters here. SACRAMENTO, CA., 7/19/26 — With just a high school diploma in hand, and no additional training or education, the average Californian is currently expected to earn about $18 an hour, or $36,000 a year — just above t…