Augustana College Teacher Education (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

  • Bachelor's in Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods
  • Private nonprofit college
  • Rock Island, IL
  • About 14 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Augustana College teacher education graduates earn more than graduates of most teacher education programs nationally, $45,517 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $27,000 in federal loans, close to the national median of $26,075. Several Illinois programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$45,51777th percentile of 655 programs nationally
Earnings after 5 years$53,63718% more than year one
Median federal debt$27,00023rd lowest of 34 Illinois programs
Debt-to-earnings59%Illinois median 58%, national 61%

How it compares

Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Illinois and national columns are the medians across all teacher education bachelor's programs that report the figure.

Five years out, Augustana College graduates earn more than the national figure and about $6,478 more than the Illinois median.

Debt and first-year pay at every Illinois teacher education program

Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Illinois medians.

Augustana CollegeOther Illinois programs

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

What graduates earn over time

Pay rises about 18% between the first and fifth year.

Augustana College grads, year 1$45,517
Augustana College grads, year 5$53,637
All Illinois teacher education grads, year 5$47,159

Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.

Paying back the loans

On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $286 a month, or 7.5% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

The government publishes these as ranges to protect privacy. They were measured in 2018 to 2020, partly during the pandemic pause on federal loan payments, so the forbearance share may be higher than usual.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

92% of graduates (24 of 26) were working in Illinois one year after graduating. Prices in the Davenport area are about 11% below the national average, so a $45,517 salary here buys what about $51,097 buys in a typical US city.

Careers this field leads to

These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to teacher education, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education

$75,320

Median pay in Illinois. 61,520 people work in this job in Illinois. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 87,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $47,040Top 10%: $105,250

Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education

$79,990

Median pay in Illinois. 44,670 people work in this job in Illinois. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 63,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $49,020Top 10%: $135,960

Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education

$76,110

Median pay in Illinois. 24,770 people work in this job in Illinois. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 38,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $47,810Top 10%: $105,580

Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education

$40,910

Median pay in Illinois. 22,420 people work in this job in Illinois. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 66,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: associate's degree.

Bottom 10%: $36,030Top 10%: $60,890

About Augustana College

Teacher Education ranks 5th of 20 bachelor's programs at Augustana College by first-year earnings. The top three are Computer Science ($74,745), Accounting ($62,149), and Engineering Physics ($54,165).

Other teacher education bachelor's programs near Rock Island

Common questions

The median graduate earns $45,517 one year after graduating and $53,637 five years after. The median across teacher education bachelor's programs in Illinois is $44,143.

About this data

  • Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid (grants or loans).
  • Earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school. Graduates who went straight to further study are not included.
  • Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
  • Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of Illinois comparisons when their main campus is in another state.
  • Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.
  • School-level numbers like tuition, admission rate, and graduation rate are for the whole school, not the teacher education program.

Sources

  1. U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
  2. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
  3. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
  4. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024

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