University of St. Thomas President Rob Vischer joined WCCO Radio ahead of the new academic year to discuss enrollment, the School of Law’s 25th anniversary and the university’s transition to Division I athletics. Vischer also highlighted strong career outcomes for St. Thomas graduates and the university’s continued focus on affordability and the student experience.
From the conversation:
Susie Jones: What do you think of higher education right now and the cost? I know when I went to the University of Minnesota in 1870. My mom wrote a check and I would stand in line at the registrar at the University of Minnesota. It can be prohibitive.
Vischer: Certainly, we keep an eye on the cost. We raise a lot of money for scholarships. We try to keep things affordable. I’ll run through some numbers because I think there are some misperceptions about the value proposition of St. Thomas today.
So at St. Thomas, the Class of 2025, which is the last class we have all the numbers in for, 98% had positive career outcomes, 86% had a job related to their major, 90% started in full-time positions, and the median starting salary was just over $70,000 a year.
Now, about half of our graduates graduate with some federal loans, and the average indebtedness is about $20,000. So when you look at those numbers, we’re actually a very strong proposition. We’ve got to get that story out. Our students do really well on the job market, and they’re not graduating with mountains and mountains of debt in most cases. So we still think we’re a great case.
